The Magazine

[Benji]

<center>

Tekken 5

6.5 out of 10</center>

Review Reasoning...

My favourite series had the most hyper behind it for me personally, months later I come to playing again, did it live up to the hype?

Plot Review

Jin Kazama won the last tournament after beaten father and grandfather, Kazuya escaped but Heihachi was assumed killed in an explosion, no human could survive such a blast. A mysterious benefactor for the Mishima Zaibatsu announces the King of Iron Fist Tournament 5, old and new fighters take up training to become number one...

The Pros

- Characters; Seriously, no fighting series has such genuine variation as Tekken, this game is no exception, in the Dark Resurrection arcade additions there are two MORE characters, but the ones on here are still brilliant. Even 'clone' characters like Anna/Nina have now been seperated and those who do have relations are different enough to alter combos and tier abilities.

- Longevity; To earn everything it takes fucking ages. you have to have plenty of time and effort, it's certainly worth the effort to change the characters costumes and earn every stage.

- Satisfaction; People joke about hitting 20 hit combos on Tekken, I'll tell you, I've done way more than that and the sheer joy you get from doing so is beyond a normal reaction.

The Cons

- Replayability; Length? Yes. Replayable? No. At the end of the day you're fighting the same fights over and over and it can get boring unless you vary yourself. Of course, this is slightly null in Arcade mode due to rankings and abilities of the fighters.

- Devil Within; The most dissapointing sub-game so far, bar none. Bring back bowl or ball, heck, allow us to use the tag feature in a regular game, just don't include this boring thing again.

- Endings; Some of the endings are just foolish, the characters in Tekken have been made so that only a quarter of characters could be credible champions, I like storylines, but it's become so predictable it's just silly.

Final Notes

Better than Tekken 4 and Tekken 1, but all the rest in my opinion were far superior, still, it's a great game in short bursts and for curing anger. It's easy to get caught up in playing sometimes and despite Devil Within being the worst game it too is okay in short bursts.

Perhaps worth the rent, but not the purchase unless you're a hardcore fan like me.

[The Future]

Shadow Of Rome(8/10)-PS2

Review Reasoning...

I had loads of fun playing this game and so should you

Plot Review

Its set in Ancient Rome you know the gist Caesar gets murdered but in this game history is altered its not Brutus that does the killing anyway there are two characters Caesars nephew Octavianus and The Bad Ass fighter Agrippa whose father is wrongly blamed for the murder

The Pros

-The Graphics are amazing the opening video gave me chills

-Chariot Races are extremely fun and challenging

-THE VIOLENCE! Hell Fucking yeah this is what the games about...from the first to the last its just amazing....you can chop off a persons head pose with it and then chuck it into the crowd or another persons face now tell me how bad ass is tha?

-The Weapons are nice! Scimitar,Gladius,And the Magnus Sword are extremely fun to use

-The Stealth Missions are fun to whenever a guard jumps out of the shadows it gives you a heart attack

The Cons

-Stealth Missions are way too long and tend to get boring

-The AI opponents need to be better they are just stupid sometimes...there is health(Meat,Cheese,Bread)lying in front of them and yes enemies can consume it but they dont even bother...they have no arms and instead of eating and regaining some health they tend to charge blindly into the walls

-Octavianus.....way too weak he should have a little health at least you turn a corner and a guard turns and runs into you causing you to die

Final Notes

To put it in long terms:Shadow Of Rome is an extremely fun game but you get bored in the middle but then it picks up again....the fighting is amazing and I suggest you buy it

Edited November 7, 2005 by The Future

[KussenKDogg2]

WWE Day of Reckoning 2

8/10

Review Reasoning...

The best current WWE Wrestler out there(Until SDvR06, which has the chance to top it), so why not let people know.

Plot Review

Typical Title chasing storyline with some really cool twists that I won't spoil

The Pros

-The new stamina meter makes for a much more strategic match.

-New hold types(Rest Hold, Taunt, Drain, and Submit) also add to the strategy.

-Unlockables are numerous

-Great look; graphics and presentation are top notch

-Lots of new moves, they all look great.

-Better Legends than DOR1

-CAW mode is great, if a little difficult

-Lots of fun multiplayer.

The Cons

-Collision; Sure, it's realistic, but it's a bitch.

-AI can be a bit suspect.

-Lack of hidden moves/movesets, you can unlock the preset ones, just not more, kills my motivation.

-The story was a bit linear, very few branching portions.

-Load times in CAW Mode...what the hell happened here?

Final Notes

Awesome game, just lacks some polish in a few small areas. If you need a wrestling game right now, buy it.

Edited November 6, 2005 by KussenKDogg2

[Benji]

<center>

Bloody Road: Primal Fury (GameCube)

4 out of 10</center>

Review Reasoning...

I bought it a while back and then decided to play it again recently, let's see how it holds up against the Beat 'Em Up old guard (that's me ).

Plot Review

If I tried to explain it you'd just think it was stupid.

The Pros

- Characters; All the different morphs are brilliant, then, that is what this game is about, each is unique, if a little tough to use.

- Difficulty; Seriously, the last guy, fucking hard on normal let alone hard. It'll have you throwing the controller in frustration (I'm not kidding, I almost bust mine).

- Controls; Once you finally get used to them they are very good, it's easy to navigate.

The Cons

- All of the Pro's; Seriously, the best parts of this game are the worst as well, the characters are different, but that's only when you learn new moves, they pretty much have the same reach, power and speed with minimal variance. It's sometimes too difficult. The controls do take a long while to get used to.

Final Notes

This is a game that takes a while to complete, but the problem is it simply ISN'T worth buying, it's a game you rent for a cheap night and end up having wasted your £4 on when you could've drank and you'd be more entertained.

It's a good game if you're a beat 'em up fan, but if you aren't then steer well clear, that is the simple reason this is so low.

Edited November 7, 2005 by Benjirino~!

[The Future]

DragonballZ Budokai Tenkaichi(PS2)-7/10

Review Reasoning...

Theres a Yu-Gi-Oh Review and since DBZ>Yu-Gi Oh...here we go!

Plot Review

It would turn out to be a novel so no...its a beat em up based on the DragonballZ Cartoon thats all you need to know

The Pros

Characters-Hoo boy they bought out the big guns for this one...60 characters featuring the familiar heroes such as Goku and Vegeta and the familiar baddies Frieza and Cell along with the rest of the cast they threw in Master Roshi,Kid Goku and some Old School characters who are long gone as well

-Energy battles if two of you end up firing signature blasts and instead of some crappy explosion like in some of the earlier games in this game like tru anime fashion both blasts meet and you have to button mash to get the edge a fun feature

-Ultimate Battle Mode, not the traditonal Survival Mode this is a 100 man tournament where you have to work your way up to number one

-Movement,in the last DBZ game the only places you could move were front and back here you can go around the entire place.

The Cons

-Camera Angles are horrible

-Lock On system, you need to lock on(sight your opponent)before you can attack its a bitch sometime but once you unlock a Scouter its quite easy

-Cutscenes could be improved...dialogue is a bit weird at times

Final Notes

Its a game only a hardcore DBZ fan should buy,anyone else who just wants to have some multiplayer fun and blast people into oblivion and smash through mountains should buy this game as well

[Vilge Duin]

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.

Edited November 22, 2005 by Vilge Duin

[EWRFan]

Dragon Ball Z Tenkaichi (PS2)

Intro:

Tenkaichi is a spin-off (not sequel) to the Budokai series and it is the first one to take the fighting on a full 3D plane.

Pros:

- Over 60 characters, including Dragon Ball characters like Kid Goku, Master Roshi and Tao Pai Pai. It also includes the complete Ginyu Force, Chiatzou, movie characters like Broly, Janemba, Bojack and Super 17 among others. Two big apes (one who I think is Gohan and the other Vegeta) are also playable.

- Ultimate Battle Mode: You go from 100 to #1 in a ranking system with opponents becoming significantly more difficult. It feels a lot like similiar modes in other fighting games like Virtua Fighter.

- Z Battle Mode: This is the game's story mode and it goes all the way from the Saiyan Saga trough the end of the Buu Saga. It also features several special sagas from movies, so you can fight and unlock Cooler, Broly and the rest of the movie characters.

- Training Videos: This tutorials narrated by Piccolo will have you playing the game like a pro in no time.

- Alternate Stories: This scenarios have you playing as the bad guys aganist the good guys and provides an alternate ending to the sagas. What if the bad guys won?

- Graphics: Incredible looking graphics. They take the characters into 3D without loosing their 2D appeal. The enviroments are incredible as well, altough some of them look like beefed up versions of Dragon Ball Saga levels. The fact that almost everything can be destroyed, from trees to mountains, to buildings is cool. If you hit a potent ki blasts in some levels, you might even make craters that last the entire battle. Characters also experience wounds and broken clothing, which is a nice effect.

Cons:

- Overly simple fighting system. Now you have only one attack button that works for both, punches and kicks. This makes combos really simple and each character only has a handful of them. Also, dodging and teleporting is more difficult and sometimes impossible when compared to Budokai 3.

- Horrible Camera: The camera is horrendus. It gets stuck sometimes, sometimes it zooms too close and you cant see yourself. Most of the time you loose fights because the camera gets on the way. It is not unplayable, but you will need a lot of patience to get used to it.

- No Transformation mid fight: Yes, now you get to choose characters in their transformed state instead of changing mid fight. Which means that you have 5 Goku's (untransformed, SS1, SS2, SS3, SS4) and so on. This is both a pro and a con, since untransformed Goku is at a level that can compete with characters like Tien and Yamcha and allows you to balance fights a little more. But it is also a con because it was so cool to transform mid fight and to do the impossible from letting your opponent do the same.

- Missing characters: Why isnt Omega Shenron in this game? He was in Budokai 3 and with extremely powerful characters in the game, I dont think he would have cause unbalancing issues or anything. Also some characters have missing forms. Broly only shows up in legendary super saiyan state. Where is standard super saiyan and untransformed? If we can have 5 Goku's and Vegeta's and like 8 Gohan's....why not more Broly's? Same with Bojack and Cooler who only show up in their transformed states.

- Moves that lack kick: I mean....the Dragon Rushes and finishers in Budokai 3 looked so awesome, with their length and nice effects, but this ones, altough cool, dont last as long or look as imposing. They feel like beefed up versions of standard moves.

- Rainbow Walls: Something that kills the illusion of the enviroments are the "invisible walls" that are actually visible in transparent rainbow colors. It just killed the illusion of free roaming for me.

- Dragon Balls: Picking up the Dragon Balls here is so boring, difficult and frustrating. You have to pick them during battles from certain spots in the levels, which usually mean blasting the ground and objects to see where they are. It's easy in places like Kami's Lookout where you blast the building where Dende is in or The Hyperbolic Time Chamber where you blast one of the sand clocks. But you have to do this 7 times to get a wish and only one wish. Then you have to do it again and again if you wish to unlock the Dragon Ball characters and the big apes...ONE BY ONE!!!! In total you have to do it like 10 times. SUCKS!!

Overall: 7.5/10

I felt that this was a letdown from Budokai 3. The graphics where great and so where some of the ideas, but the overall product is barely good. I recomended if you are a big DBZ fan like myself, but for everyone else, this is a rental.

[EWRFan]

Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2004

Intro:

I like all sports and wanted to try a golf game. I got this for under $10 used and it was one of the best pick-ups I have ever made!

Pros:

- Huge assortment of golfers: From Tiger Woods and Charles Howell III, to silly created characters like "Big Mo" the samoan and "Pops" the 100 something old man, each with their unique stances and swings.

- 12+ golf courses to choose from. From real life courses like Pebble Beach and Torrey Pine, to created, outlandish and incredibly challenging courses like "The Predator" and "Penguin Falls".

- World Tour: You travel the world facing golfers in match play to win money and unlock courses. You begin with easy pickings, but as you progress the AI gets smarter and harder to beat, the courses grow more difficult as you play from the black tees and on expert pin placement and more.

- Scenarios: This challenging minigames are hard to beat and adds cash and rewards. They are really HARD!! I have not finished them all yet!!

- Career: Play trough 10 PGA Tour seasons, trying to become a legend. Very well done as well, but you need to have upgraded your player significantly to even make the cut, so it is suggested that you make money in the exibhition games, scenarios and world tour before you begin.

- Game Face: One of the most incredible player editors ever. You can create your golfer and model his face, his clothing and more. Options are limited at first, but as you win money and sponsorships, many more options will be avalible. Upgrade your stats that range from power and boost, to luck and more. Buy better equipment like clubs, balls and tee's, buy clothing, gloves, shoes and so much more.

- Multiplayer: Great multiplayer features and modes like match play, skin play, tournament and a bunch of arcade mini games.

CONS:

- Aiming: You use the left analog stick to swing, L1 to boost and L2 for spin control. It is hard to mantain a straight swing while desperately tapping the boost icon, which might light to shots being more favored to the left or right than you expect. But with time you learn to make adjustements.

- Learning curve: It will take time to learn how to properly measure distances, specially while putting. Also, learning how much to compensate for wind, uphill or downhill shots and so on takes a lot of practice and time to learn.

Overall: 8.5/10

My first experience with a golf game, but it was a good one and I recommend it to everyone who is curious about the sport. It is very engaging and hooks you up when you learn how to play.

[EWRFan]

Harvest Moon: Back to Nature(PS ONE)

Intro:

I am a huge fan of this series and have been following them since the SNES days. It is a farming simulation/dating sim/RPG and the PS1 version is the one I consider the best. Well, I have not played the new PS2 one yet(Wonderful Life: Special Edition) but I have alredy ordered it, so expect a review of it soon.

Overview:

From the game manual: "It's difficult to distinguish childhood memories from dreams, like those happy times at your grandfather's farm.There was a girl there, or maybe she was part of a dream. All you know is that a decade has passed and all that you own are memories and the tired,dilapidated remains of your grandfather's labor. While the local villagers fondly remember your grandfather, they dont know you. You are a stranger, an outsider, someone they dont trust. The mayor has generously allowed you to return to your grandfather's farm with the condition that you restore the farm and fit in with your neighbors. At the end of three years, the village will meet and determine if you can stay or if you need to pack your bags and move on.Memories might be precious, but nothing will give you the satisfaction of making all your childhood dreams come true with your hard work."

Simple premise for the game. You begin with a small house, a field full of weeds and rocks, a barn,a hen house, a stable and some old tools. The game challenges you to raise crops and livestock to make money in addition to keeping the farm clean(eliminating weeds, rocks and tree stumps), keeping your animals happy, befriending the townspeople and eventually meet the girl of your dreams and get married. This is all more challenging than it sounds. As time progresses you will be able to upgrade your tools and buy new ones, make your house, barn and hen house bigger, compete in festivals and so much more.

PROS:

- Plenty of crops to grow trough the four seasons. Tomatoes, Tunips, Potatoes, Pineapple, Strawberries and more. You are also able to grow flowers. You can sell your crops, eat them, cook them, give them as presents and so on. Each crop has it's own monetary value and the time it takes to grow, as well as the season where you can plant it.

- Raise Cows, Chickens and Sheep. Cows give you milk, chickens give you eggs and sheep gives you wool and all of this things can be sold. You can also sell any animals you dont want anymore, which is a profitable business on itself. Later when you have plenty of money and good friends, you might be able to buy improved tools and machines that allow to turn the eggs, milk and wool into other, more profitable items.

- Explore!!! Their is so much to see and so much to take part on. Besides making friends and dating girls, you can go fish in the lake, take a relaxing bath in the spring, explore the mines and dig for ore, find wild produce like wildberries and mushroms that can be sold for money, chop wood and more.

- Dating!!! This is one of the most engaiging aspects of the game. You can choose one of five girls and bring her gifts, talk to her and eventually get to know her likes and dislikes, her problems and her functions in the town. You also have a rival who competes with you over the girl!!

- Festivals! Competing in this festivals allows you to learn more about the people that live in the town and also grant you bonuses. Chicken Sumo(a hilarious take on cock fights), the tomato festival, the cooking festival, dog and horse races and more. All of them are fun on their own way.

CONS:

- Too addictive!!! Prepare to loose your social life for a while.

- Requires good time management skills. Their is so much to do in one day and so little time.

- Not for everyone. Some people find it too cute, others too slow, some say it is repetitive, but at least give it a try. All my friends where like "WTF is that?", but they all loved it when I handed the controller over.

Overall: 9/10

I might be biased since I am a fan of the series, but try it. It is very cheap nowdays. Just dont blame me for getting addicted to this game.

[Vilge Duin]

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.

[EWRFan]

Shinning Force(Sega Genesis)

Intro:

This is the game that CREATED Strategy/RPG's, the father of the Final Fantasy Tactics and Tactics Ogre of the world. Over a decade old and re-released for the GBA earlier in the year(which I will also review soon) it is still as charming, fun and addictive as it originally was. It was one of my first RPG's and one I still play every once in a while.

Overview:

1,000 years have passed since great warriors vanquished the evil Dark Dragon, a monster with the power to destroy the world. After being sealed off, Dark Dragon promised that he would return in one thousand years and destroy the world. Well, one thousand years have passed, mosters have appeared out of nowhere and an evil wizard named Darksol roams the world. Plus, the kingdom of Runefaust, for long allies of Guardiana under the wise King Ramladu have betrayed their Guardiana counterparts and declared war on them. This strange behavior started to happen once Ramladu started to wear an armor given to him as a gift by the wizard Darksol.

In the game you play as Max(or whatever name you want to give him) and lead an army of young warriors known as The Shinning Force to seek the answers to the questions on everyone's minds and put an end to Darksol.

Gameplay:

The game allows you to take 12 characters with you into any battle, but you will meet much more than that, over 30 characters, and deciding which ones to take into battle is part of the fun. After a character gets to level 10, they can be "promoted" or changed to an even more powerful class. Classes range from Knights, Swordsmen, Mages and Healers to Steam Knights, Winged Knights, Birdmen and even a dog. You take turns moving each character around the map and then attacking, using items or casting magic.

Even when characters have the same class, attributes are much different. Ken, the first knight you get, has a ton of HP, but weak defense. He is better with a lance than a spear. Mae on the other hand, has less HP, but a stronger defense and is good with the spear. Arthur has extremely weak defense and low HP, but if you level him enough, he is the only knight to learn magic spells and eventually becomes the most powerful. Pelle on the other hand, is a true powerhouse, dealing massive amounts of damage. All of them are knights, but like I mentioned, they have their differences.

Graphics and sound:

The game had cutting edge graphics for it's time. Most of the action takes place from the typical overhead perspective of this type of game, but when you attack, use magic or items or you get attacked, the game cuts into an animation cutscene that shows the action. Pretty neat and I remember being amazed at this back in the day. The sound is nothing to write home about, but it is pretty acceptable with nice sounds effects, altough the music gets repetitive.

Replayability:

The game is really short if you know what you are doing, you can beat it in between 5-7 hours. But the replayabilty factor comes from trying to level up other characters and eventually beat the game with a different combination. I have beaten this game like 10 times and I still have not maxed out every character and seen what they become once promoted. Plus, the game has two very hidden characters(a Ninja named Hanzou and a Samurai named Musashi) that require a lot of searching to be found. I didnt found Hanzou until my third playtrough or so and I didnt found Musashi until the fifth time or so.

Overall: 8/10

I still love this game, even as old as it is and the sequel is so much better. I will review it pretty soon as well. If you like RPG's, you will love this game. It's challenging, it's fun and it has a ton of characters.

[EWRFan]

Shinning Force: Return of Dark Dragon(GBA)

Intro:

This is the updated version of Shinning Force released for the GBA last year. It is basically the same game, so I will cover the new features and changes and how they affect the game.

New Features and changes

- New storyline arc with new characters, side missions and character stories. The side missions act as a prologue as you guide a young lady from the enemy army of Runefaust and in her quest to meet the Shinnig Force and try to save King Ramladu from Darksol's spell. This side missions usually play out as dialogue followed by a battle and take place at the end of the game's normal chapters. They are intriguing, but easy and some of the new characters seem a little odd and out of place, but they dont detract from the overall game. Also Max(or the name you give your main character if you choose to rename) now has a little bit more story to him as we learn that he doesnt remember his name and where he came from and hints are dropped across the name. I think this change is for the better.

- The replayabilty is higher due to several factors. For once, a new character introduces a card collection mechanic. He uses cards to attack and do other special abilities. This cards are usually from characters and weapons in the game and are impossible to collect in one playtrough. You need to beat the game at least three times to catch them....er...find them all. They dont affect the game that much, but for competists like me it is a good addition. Some of them are hidden in chests, or you get them from talking to characters, finishing a boss with Max or even by listening to your party members and keeping them active in battles(and not sitting in the headquaters). Since it is impossible to keep all characters active on all the battles, you need to play the game more than once. Also, characters now have their own stories to tell, such as Gort telling you about a war long ago or Ken telling you why he decided to become a knight. They tell this stories at the HQ and only after a new battle, bit by bit. That means that you will need to keep them active on all battles to complete the story. Another reason to play trough more than once.

The rest of the game has not changed at all which is a good thing.

Overall: 8.5/10

I added a .5 for all the new reasons to replay what was a great game made better.

[EWRFan]

Shinning Force II(Genesis)

Intro:

This is the sequel to Shinning Force and the game that many consider the best in the series. I have not played part III on the Saturn yet, so I cant comment on that. What I know is that this game is longer,bigger and overall better than the first one and that is saying something.

Story and Overview:

You play as Bowie(or whatever name you give him), a young kid. He even goes to school to take classes with the famed scholar Sir Astral. The town you live in is right next to the Ancient Tower, where the powers of evil where sealed long ago. A thief named Slade steals the Jewels of Light and Darkness and accidentaly opens the seal of the tower. This causes all sorts of madness and eventually free the demon Zeon, who defeated Darksol and Dark Dragon in a fight in the darkside to escape. Your neighbors, who where once peaceful and allied with your town also make the heel turn(they betray your kingdom and their king steals one of the jewels). This all leads to you and your group of friends moving over to "The Main Land", another continent and starting anew. You lead Bowie and the new Shinning Force in an attempt to rescue the princess(captured by your evil neighbors), recover the missing jewel and put an end to Zeon.

The game is bigger this time, taking 15-20 hours to complete. You also get a lot more characters this time, between 35-40, characters can be promoted at level 20 this time. Some characters can also choose a diferent promotion if they happen to be carrying a special item. This items are hard to come by and allow you to turn warriors into barons, knights into pegasus knights, mages into sorcerers and priests into master monks. Your character not only becomes more powerful, but also changes in apperance and even the music that plays when they attack changes. The game also has plenty of side quests and allows you to explore more than you did in the first game. No longer are you limited to play by chapters, but some areas of the world might be locked by natural obstacles and you need to find specific things to open them up. In this sense the game is pretty linear. Also they are many more hidden characters, they will no longer just show up and join you. The boss fights are also way more difficult than the first game.

Graphics and sound:

The graphic presentation is better than the first game. The battle cutscenes are more animated, character designs are more creative and the game itself looks more colorful. The sound is basically the same as the first game, with one or two new tracks that play during battles, altough they sound like remixes of the original songs.

Replayability:

If you dont use a guide, chances are you will not find all the characters in one playtrough, which increases replay value. Also you can always come back for more and try to beat the game with a different combination of characters. It is still one of the games I play every once in a while when I need an RPG fix. The addition of adjustable difficulty also adds replay value since the game is almost a torture in the hardest setting.

Overall: 9/10

The game improves everything about the original and brings back the same mix of difficult and addictive battles with memorable characters. The story seems very typical for the genre, but has enough plot twists to keep you hooked.

[EWRFan]

WWF Royal Rumble(Genesis/SNES)

Intro:

This was the first game I ever owned and I still play it every once in a while. I only own the Genesis version, but I played the SNES version at a friends house and the differences are minimal in terms of gameplay, the only difference is that the SNES roster was updated to reflect the changes in the WWF at the time.

Overview:

- Both versions have 12 wrestlers from the time period. The Genesis version has: Randy Savage, Hulk Hogan, The Undertaker, Bret "The Hitman" Hart, Shawn Michaels, IRS, Razor Ramon, Crush, "The Narcissist" Lex Luger, "Hacksaw" Jim Duggan, Papa Shango and "The Model" Rick Martel. In the SNES version, the roster was more updated and lacks Hogan, Duggan and several others and changes them with the likes of Yokozuna, Ric Flair, Tatanka, Mr. Perfect and Ted DiBiase(who looks exactly like Jim Duggan with black tights!! Lazy bastards). The SNES roster was better, but anyway...I own the Genesis version so let's stick to that!!!

- Game modes where 1 on 1, Tag Team, Triple Tag Team(6 Man Tag) and Royal Rumble, in addition to a "career" mode of sorts in which you fight the other 11 wrestlers in progressively harder matches to win the WWF Title. Royal Rumble was the thing back then, with six wrestlers in at once. Once you depleted their stamina to 1/4 health, you could toss them out.

- Moves where the same for all characters with the exception of the finisher. They had a vertical suplex, backbreaker, bodyslam, eye gouge, choke, elbowdrop, splash and some others. Not more than 8-10 moves really. You could climb the top turnbuckle and launch an elbowdrop and you could use a chair as long as the ref didnt spot you. You could also whip opponents into the stairs, the side of the ring, the turnbuckle and the protection walls. It pales in comparision to Fire Pro Wrestling, but this is what we americans had back then. Each character had their finisher, which could be performed when the opponent was at 1/4 health and at specific situation. Hulk Hogan had the legdrop and Bret Hart had the sharpshooter when the opponent was on the ground, Savage had the Flying Elbow when the opponent was on the ground and you in the top rope, HBK had the Slingshot Suplex when you stood behind a dizzy opponent, Razor Ramon did the Razor's Edge and Undertaker the Tombstone from a grapple and so on. To win a grapple you needed to mash buttons to fill a bar.

Overall: 6/10

Game is good for fun and laughs, but it's slow speed, lack of moves, small roster and repetitive matches are not for everyone. Short amount of game modes hurts the score either. Altough playing the Royal Rumble with a friend is fun.

[EWRFan]

WWF RAW(Genesis)

Intro:

This will be my last "classic" review for a while since I am hooked on NFS: Most Wanted, Raw vs Smackdown 2006 and Harvest Moon Special Edition and I will be reviewing them as soon as I am done playing them. Well, this game was the follow up to Royal Rumble and altough a little more polished, still lacks what made the Japaneese Wrestling games so good....more moves!!!

Overview:

- Once again we have 12 characters: The Undertaker, Bret "The Hitman" Hart, Shawn Michaels, Diesel, Doink the Clown, Bam Bam Bigelow, Luna Vachon(first lady in a wrestling game I think), Lex Luger, Yokozuna, Razor Ramon, 1-2-3 Kid and Owen Hart. Good, but it lacks star power me thinks. Altough you cant beat the star power of Doink the Clown!!! Plus I think Luna should have been removed in favor of somebody else from the time...dunno...like The British Bulldog?

- Once again we have like 10-12 moves, altough not every character has the same moves. Some characters have a hair toss instead of a body slam. They do have their trademark finishers, Undertaker has the Tombstone, The Harts have the Sharpshooter, HBK has the Slingshot Suplex, Bigelow has the Diving Headbutt, Yokozuna has the Bonzai Drop and so on. Once again, you can choke, eye gouge and use a chair when the ref is down or aint looking. You can also whip the opponent into the turnbuckle, the steel post, the side of the ring, the protective walls and the ring bell, which makes a nice "GONG" sound.

- Game modes include 1 on 1, Tag Team, Six Man Tag, Survivor Series, Handicap and Royal Rumble, with the Rumble once again being the meat and potatoes, specially in multiplayer. It also has the "Career" of sorts in which you have to beat the other 11 wrestlers to earn the title. In Six Man Tag and Survivor Series, you only see one wrestler in the ring and one on the apron, with the Mode button switching who is in the apron so you can tag in a fresh wrestler. Once again you get 6 people at a time in the rumble. You can also play "Bedlam" which is Tornado Tag Team.

- They also added some hilarious "Super Moves" that would foreshadow the disaster known as Wrestlemania: The Arcade Game. Characters could do this moves after complex button presses and included Lex Luger doing a windup super punch that would knock people off the ring or Doink bending somebody and kicking him on the ass and to the outside. I remember renting the "video guide"(VHS) at blockbuster in order to learn this moves back in the day. It included some wrestling footage and characters telling how to do their moves.....it really belongs in Wrestlecrap tough.

Overall: 6.5/10

I actually enjoyed the game back when I was 10....but not as much now. The super moves are out of place and too difficult in execution, the moves and the game itself is too repetitive. Good for nostalgia sake.

[Kaney]

<center>

Ultimate Spiderman

6.5 out of 10</center>

Review Reasoning...

I just got it yesterday for my birthday, and I didn't want to bump up Matzats old topic.

Plot Review

The game is set in the Ultimate Marvel universe, which is basically a fresh take on the classic stories. Peter Parker and Eddie Brock are the main characters, in their respective roles as Spiderman and Venom. Their fathers were colleagues creating a 'suit' that would among other things, cure cancer. Both fathers died in mysterious circumstances, and now Eddie feels like the suit is his inheritance. He breaks into the lab, becomes Venom, and chaos ensues, as usual. As Spiderman/Venom you zip around New York fighting various peoples and performing various tasks until you know enough to figure out what happened to your parents.

The Pros

- There's an entire city to swing around at your leisure and once you're used to the controls, it can be pretty fun to just roam around seeing what you can see.

- There's tons of extras to find after you've beaten the game, such as hidden tokens, or 'city events' to complete. There are tons of unlockables achieved by getting a certain number of tokens, or winning a certain number of races. It'll keep you going long after the credits, if you've got the patience to settle into a groove of just swinging to a particular area.

- No fucking kids losing their balloons.

- Venom. You get to play as Spiderman's arch enemy in this game, and he's a hell of a lot more fun to use. Due to the alternate universe, he doesn't have the asme webswinging abilities as Spiderman, but instead has a massive powered jump which is surprisingly fun. Once you beat the game you get to free-roam as Venom, and it's a lot better than using Spiderman in my opinion.

The Cons

- The graphics. Cel-shading is used, and although it looks better in motion that it does from screenshots, the game can look pretty rough on the edges. I'm partially biased since I hate cel-shading, but it does add a better 'comic-book' atmosphere.

- The engine is incredibly similar to that used in Spiderman 2, based off the movie, but it seems to do it a lot worse. The controls are slightly different in areas, but if you're a fan of the movie game tie-in, you'll notice the abscence of certain abilities VERY significant.

- Animation-specific delays. One of the mainstays of the game is that you go up against a gang, and have to fight a number of them in various areas of the city. Due to the animation of some moves and combos, you're guaranteed to end up standing stock still for a second after knocking one guy down before you can jump away. Leaving the five other guys to have their way with you. Veru annoying, especially in fights against a particular gang who like to block a lot. Hmph.

- Boss battle are ridiculously difficult. The one and only strategy you can use is die and die and die until you've figured out exactly what he does. If I weren't the type of person who keeps going to prove a point to the damn cheating bosses, I'd have given up a long time ago

Final Notes

Normally a game has more pros than cons, or vice versa giving you a fair verdict, but this one doesn't. For every good thing I can say about the game there's something shit, and it leaves you feeling overall very 'meh'. The one thing I can say for sure about this is definently rent it before you buy it. Or just buy Spiderman 2 instead.

Edited December 3, 2005 by Kaneanite

[Benji]

<center>

WWE Smackdown! vs RAW 2006

7.5 out of 10</center>

Review Reasoning...

Today I finally completed the game, with everything, I'm used to the system, I have everything you can get out of the game (bar online play, but I've been put off of that thanks to you fuckers, I'd get angry every time I logged on) and I just want to explain the best and worst parts.

Plot Review

It's a pro wrestling game, you go through RAW or Smackdown!, get involved in angles, you know the usual jazz.

The Pros

- Overhaul; Seriously, if you've played SD! games before and 'every year its the same with a different roster', this year you'd be wrong. So much has changed (although some stuff is still rather shit and some of the new stuff is buggy) that it is definately worth getting even if you have this ideal of the series.

- Stamina System; Brilliant, I hated it in the first place, I kept forgetting, but after a while you get used to it, it makes for a more interesting game because you can't just be offensive and counter all the time, you have to take your time and make it work for you.

- Challenge; The longest I've taken to complete a game in the series, all thanks to the challenges, which are FINALLY tough. Seriously, try putting Hogan away with DiBiase when pretty much every move Hogan does is half damage fixed to a limb, or taking out Andre's huge stamina with Hogans limited moveset, some are still easy as fuck, but you WILL get some length out of them.

- Roster; The best roster / legends that have been in a game in a while, I'm not saying it's perfect, but it's close enough to make it a fun game.

The Cons

- Season Mode; Same old shit, about 5 storyline possibilities for a season makes it very lame, I wish there was a more 'open season' like in the very first season.

- GM Mode; Feels like it was added just to say a 16 odd year old teen managed to make a version of this, so can we, simply though, EWR and PW will always be better than this bullshit which is so biased to the computer it's retarded.

- Commentators; Repetitive and not at all amusing, bring back the unintended innuendo I say.

- 'The Usual'; Feels rushed for Christmas, a few bugs in new features, relative bias to computer controlled opponents in Legend mode, often unrealistic amounts of reversals, but these are pretty much all nulled by the good points of each mentioned.

Final Notes

If you're a wrestling fan, or a fan of the series, get it, otherwise I'd wait until next year and grab it without it's buggy system when all the new stuff should be fixed (and judging by IGN polls, there will be even better legends too). A good game, nice length and difficulty, but it falters with bad programming.

Edited December 27, 2005 by Benjirino~!

[The Future]

*Enter Game Cover Picture*

Chronicles Of Narnia

PS2

7.5/10

Review Reasoning:I loved the book as a lad and was excited when the movie came out along with a video game time to kill them wolves with Lucy!

Plot: its War Time in England as Lucy,Edmund,Susan and Peter the siblings go to leave with a Professor after an unpleasant air raid, they want to play hide and seek and small sister Lucy wanders into a Wardrobe which leads to another world freaky shit right? I wonder whats behind my girlfriends thongs in her closet...sounds lke a plan *ahem*so enter this magical world with fancial unicorns and such oh and an evil witch with an army of wolves waiting to kill you have fun in there kids.

Pro:

-Very nice film to game adaption the missions are nicely thought off and the boss battles while easy are frustrating, teamwork is essential as your siblings join you in battle you can switch between them any time and all have them have special abilties/uses, Susan is good to take care of long range, Lucy can fit into small holes and tunnels in case you need to hide, Edmund....well Edmund has a knife, Peter is great for combat with his sword/stick/fists whatever, oh right! Edmund can climb trees and walk across ice patches to secure a route for you!, boss battles range from fighting Cyclops where teamwork is needed, as Lucy needs to climb up and cover his eyes while Edmund and Peter hack away then grab him by the legs so Susan can bury him with her arrows all while getting murdered by Midgets firing flaming arrows from a hill which is fun, you get to beat up the Midgets soon as well so kickass!.....the transition from fun to battle is done well at first you struggling to hide from the mean nanny, hiding behind boxes and tables and playing hide and seek and then you go to saving your brother from a dwarf who happens to lead an army of giants and other creatures. The first level gets the adrenaline going as air planes are dropping bombs everywhere and you have to get the hell out of your house busting through doors all while the rotten floor under you collapses which you means you go splat into the furnace, the fighting system is your typical hit/run/combo there are many obstacles such as those annoying ice patches which only Edmund and Lucy can go across seriously trying getting across with Peter step on the wrong block of Ice and you drown. Cut Scenes are done well with a Movie to Game transition the graphics are good Lucy looks adorable, Susan is okay, Edmund looks great and Peter is Peter although the eyes need work

The Cons:

Boss Battles are a bitch you die, die and die until you can avoid the cyclops kill 5 midgets who work as alive arrow towers all while avoiding Ghouls with spears as well, theres also the one where you have to fight the lead wolf where like 50 or so wolves flood you and you have to fight them off, Graphics while decent still need alot of work the Cyclops doesnt scare you it makes you go "HA! you have one eye bitch!" the first time you encounter them you get the shit beat out of you the second time you get to kill them by chucking barrels....the fighting system still needs alot of work sure you can run up and wave your sword but you could do more it wouldnt hurt to add in a few combos it gets boring doing the same old KRISS SPRULES RUNNING DOUBLE ELBOW PAT! as Lucy okay so asking a 6 year old to do combos is harsh but at least allow her to get some weapons your saying she couldnt pick up a stick and go crazy on those wolves?

Final Overview: Narnia=A Great Movie=An average at best game if you are a big fan of the books/movie buy it or rent it which is more recomended if you are not a fan of the series and hope the game can change your mind....bad luck

[daman077c]

Dead or Alive 4 for the XBOX360

Needless to say, this is an awesome game. Using a mix of the DOAU and DOA3 fighting engines, the game is well balanced. Team Ninja did the slightest of tweaks, shortening the reversal frames to the point that you have to hit the button right when the characters hand or leg is about to hit you. This makes for a less of an emphasis on the reversal button, which many people didn't like about the original DOA's. The graphics are right behind PGR3 in terms of detail, although the skin on the characters still look like satin. The only real gripe with the game is the jumping attacks, which if timed correctly, completely kill a wake-up kick, destroying the animation, and sometimes the person who did the jump attack doesn't land on the opponent, they actually land on the ground, but the game still goes like the attack landed. A small gripe, but one nonetheless. Also, while the amount of costumes each character has was dropped from DOAU (we're talking 20 in DOAU to 7 for the girls), it isn't something to piss and moan about, due to the downloadable content feature.

My Score (Out of Ten): 9.0/10

The smaller amount of costumes, and the jumping attack animation glitch are small gripes that can't really tarnish the work that Team Ninja and Tecmo put into this game.

[PkmnTrainerJ]

Haha! A double shot of reviews! Splash of soda, no ice.

Soul Calibur II - 6/10 (PS2)

Review Reasoning...

Just started on this again yesterday so wanted to review it.

Plot Review

You must obtain Soul Edge, er...Calibur. Maybe both. I get confused. I never really pay attention to the story.

The Pros

- Easy to use battle system

- Heihachi is in the PS2 version

- Ring Outs rock

- You can see Taki's distracting nipples

- Talim rocks also

- Differing weapons do different things, such as heal you

- Many weapons/costumes to collect

- Weapon Master mode can be lengthy

The Cons

- Weapon Master mode can be a bitch at times

- Some characters have a blatant advantage (Astaroth - Giant Axe, Heihachi - Hands.)

- Why did I want Assassin, Beserker & Lizardman as extra characters? Why not Inferno?

Edited March 19, 2006 by Benji O' Doom~!