The Magazine

[Toe]

NHL 2K6

I have had a change of heart. I had previously stated that I liked NHL 06 from EA Sports better, and while I still maintain that the visuals are better in EA's game, I have been converted after a lazy day without access to my computer. The gameplay in NHL 2K6 is superior to NHL 06, being more realistic and more fun once you get used to it. The Enforcer system is especially fun when playing as a team with Tie Domi, Darcy Tucker and Bryan McCabe. The goalies sprawling about look good too. If I could get access to XBOX Live, I would get fully updated roster and be happy as a clam.

9/10

(Note - I have the XBOX version, not PS2. Also, I have the Canadian version, with Mats Sundin on it. It's cooler then stupid Turco.)

[GhostMachine]

I recently bought Blitz: The League for the PS2, and after reading the review posted in this thread, I have to bring up a few things. Unfortunately, they are all cons:

1. The game has 3 difficulty settings, but they only work in Quick Game mode. Campaign mode only has one setting, and its somewhere between Medium to Hard.

2. The game has hellaciously long loading and saving times.

3. Injuries don't seem at all realistic. For instance, you can choose to treat (ie, heal with rest and normal medical treatment) or juice (ie, shoot up with painkillers or cortizone) when a player is injured, but sometimes the damage is just not believable. Ie, having a guy suffer an injury that would put him out several games if treated, yet put him back in after a few plays if you shoot him up with drugs. If there were consequences for coming back into a game injured, other than risking further injury, it would be cool. But playing injured doesn't seem to have any affect on their playing ability. (For example, a QB with a concussion plays the same as a completely healthy one)

4. (This could be because I suck, OR because I am right and the game was rushed without much beta testing) During Campaign mode, the AI seems to be stacked in favor of certain teams. For instance, the Washington Redhawks seem to gain more yardage on kickoff returns than they should have any right to, and I've had situations against them and another team (the Chicago Marauders or Cincinnati Crusaders) where someone blows right by defenders and scores a touchdown on a kickoff return when, by all rights, the guy should be cleaning dirt out of his teeth around his team's 40 yard line.

5. Juicing up on illegal performance enhancing drugs isn't really worth it the way the game is designed. They're fairly expensive, all of them have side effects (usually making them more subsceptable to injury or reducing their awareness), you can get fined and the player suspended for 4 weeks (meaning 3-4 games) if they're caught on the juice, and the effects of juicing only last for 3 weeks. Meaning you have to pay to juice them up every 3 weeks to keep the effects going. You're better off picking the doctor who gets better effects from training, sticking to the non-illegal drugs, skipping the illegal stuff altogether and saving the cash for equipment upgrades which cost more but are better in the long run.

6. There are only 3 different stadiums to choose from for your team to use in Campaign mode.

I give the game a 7.5/10. (Would be an 8/10, but I'm subtracting half a point because of the loading and saving times; it gets irritating after a while)

Overall, its a good game, and the developers did a damn good job of fleshing out the League's history. In fact, I'd love to see a sequel that takes place in the past and has some of the teams that don't exist anymore, or just have those teams (and their stadiums) as unlockables in a sequel.

For a sequel, they need to fix it so the difficulty settings do affect Campaign mode, need to tweak the AI so that a team with a worse offense than your defense doesn't blow by your defenders on kickoff returns, and most of all need to reduce the load and save times by about half, if not more. Then, and ONLY then, would the game be worthy of a 10 out of 10.

Edited March 16, 2006 by GhostMachine

[therockbox]

Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter (Xbox 360)

5/10

“With the technology of 2013, you may live to see 2014”

Review Reasoning:

I got it the other day, and I’ve finally started playing it (after finally dragging myself away from FNR3). I haven’t really played any of the Ghost Recon games before, but from what I read this looked like it was well worth picking up.

The Plot:

The face of war has changed. Enemy lines blur, and there is no longer a clear opponent. New enemies and new threats require a new type of warfare - a new type of soldier. Enter the Ghosts.

In 2013, the U.S. Army will implement the Integrated Warfighter System (IWS), evolving what we know as the modern soldier. IWS combines advanced weapon systems, satellite communication devices and enhanced survivability into one fully integrated combat system. The IWS program has been developed to meet these new threats head on. Now, it can be tested on the battlefield.

Following an insurgence in the heart of Mexico City, the U.S. Army's most elite Special Forces team is deployed to the center of the conflict to regain control of the city. Greatly outnumbered but fully equipped with the IWS, this elite team is the first and last line of defense on the battlefield. They are the "Quiet" professionals. They are the Ghosts.

The Pros:

- The graphics. Yes, I know generally “gameplay > graphics”, but I think the visuals are the main selling point for this game. Having never played the game before I didn’t know much about the game except for the graphics – and they are very, very good. The little touches also make a difference, like skidding into crouch position when running.

- The AI. Generally, your squad does exactly what you tell them to do and they’ll take cover on their own accord, so you don’t really have to worry about them wandering off and getting themselves killed.

The Cons:

- The sound. Sometimes, it’s extremely difficult to hear what’s being said unless you stop, and pay attention (not ideal if you’re being attacked). Even then you have to turn the volume right up to get it clearly.

- Some of the text displayed on screen is MUCH too small. For example, in the tutorial you’re being told how to ‘hit targets from long range’, but because the text telling you what buttons to press is unreadable (even when getting right up close), you’re basically left to hit all the buttons in turn until you hit the right one.

- Basic commands. “Go there” and “Regroup!” make up the commands you can give your squad, so you can’t really set up any decent attacks on an enemy position.

- Aiming is far too easy, it might as well be being done for you. Say for example you’ve got a sniper sitting quite far away, his position will still be indicated by a large red triangle on the screen (along with a multitude of other enemy positions). This usually means you can fire aimlessly into the distance and take out your target, as well as meaning that you’re generally never going to be surprised by an enemy.

IT’S:

Pretty, relatively easy (once you figure out what the controls are), worth renting

IT’S NOT:

A challenge, worth buying unless you’re going to go online with it, for those with poor eyesight.

Final Notes:

I’ll probably go over this again once I get my 360 online, which should add quite a lot to this game. If you’re not going to play it online though I’d suggest you give it a rent first, because you could probably finish it within a couple of days of solid playing.

[Benji]

Pokémon Crystal - 6.9/10

Review Reasoning...

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

Plot Review

You, are once again, a young kid, male or female (OMGZ!) who gets dragged into filling up a Pokédex for Oak. Catch all 251* Pokémon and kick the ass of 16 Gym Leaders.

The Pros

- I wub Johto Pokémon

- The animations were new and magical

- I wub Johto

- G/S/C Rival > Gary

- A shiny egg!

- Travelling to Kanto

- Trading a Pidgey with Tackle to Blue!

- Two new HMs!

- Suicine is easy to catch

The Cons

251 *Only 250 Pokémon are actually obtainable anywhere outside of Japan

Useless GS Ball

Your clock goes way off eventually

Final Notes

It's a lot more enjoyable than I've made it sound. Pick it up for a few pounds/dollars.

NB: This review was done by PkmnTrainerJ.

[Guest baseballfan2k6]

God of War

9.5 out of 10

Review Reasoning

I bought this game recently and completed it.

Plot Review

Kratos is angry and he wants to kill the Greek God of War, Ares. It is set in Ancient Greece.

The Pros

- Great cutscenes. These ones don't make you want to skip them, which is amazing.

- Zelda-style gameplay with M-rated content. What could be better than combining the best game rating with the best gameplay experience on the market.

- Greek myth setting. It's amazing that more games haven't been set in this universe because it is very intriguing.

- The Critics liked it. You can't underestimate the value of this because you can't disagree with the critics without facing their supporters' wrath.

The Cons

- Difficulty. The easy level is too difficult for the typical person who buys games. This game is aimed too much at the hardcore gamer.

- Nothing truly innovative. Games have featured Greek myth before. Games have had violence before. The basic gameplay of this game has been done repeatedly before.

- Not long enough. Levels were cut from this game due to financial and technical limitations.

Icarus Wings level was cut

Sandstorm level was cut

Some character designs were modified due to technical issues

Edited March 22, 2006 by baseballfan2k6

[EWRFan]

The Warriors(PS2)

Intro:

The Warriors is a beat em up game in the same line as classics like Streets of Rage and Final Fight and the first such game to be any good in the 3D era. It is based on a classic 1979 cult film that has the titular gang, The Warriors from Coney Island, framed for the murder of Cyrus, a popular gang leader that had intentions to unite all the gangs of New York, by their Coney Island rivals, The Destroyers.

Gameplay(8/10)

Typical beat em up fare. You have quick and power attacks, by mixing both or repeated button presses you can make combos. You have a grab button that allows you to throw baddies around or smack them in the face with punches and kicks. You can also pull team attacks, use weapons like bats and nightsticks to smack them on the head or throw anything at them. Basically everything in the game can be used as a weapon. You can toss the enemies into creates, trash cans, tables, chairs and even trash bags or you can throw any of this items at them. Bottles and bricks can be thrown by using an aiming reticle(which is a little complicated) or used for sneak attacks and smacked opponents heads with them on a bloody, slow motion, moment.

That is the cool thing, that almost anything can be turned into a painful experience for your foes. Their is even a special throw that sends opponents face first and hard into walls in another cool, slow mo bit. Police officers are stronger than typical baddies and will try to arrest you. You can evade arrest by using the right stick and trying to avoid the vibration. This vibration mechanism is also used to interrogate baddies or steal from civilians by finding the vibration and inflicting pain on the arm hold. You can also pick locks and steal from stores, or smash car windows open and steal their car radios!

Cash is used to buy Flash, a drug that recovers your health, or spray cans that are used to tag territory or as a weapon. You have a special grab attack with the spray can that ends one of two ways. Either, you smack the can in a cool slow mo bit on the guys noggin', or you blind him with spray. The tag mechanism is very simple, as you use the stick to move a dot across a pattern. Completing it equals a tag, while straying too far off the pattern causes the controller to shake. Shakes drain more paint than normal, which means that mistakes are costly as you usually need more spray cans to finish the tag.

The entire game can be played on cooperative mode with another player. The Story mode has three mission settings. Normal missions or the red markers begin 90 days prior to the movie and move to the movies conclusion. It begins with the training of Rembrant and ends at the movies end, with the fight in Coney Island's shores aganist the Destroyers. Purple Markers are Flashback Missions that show some of the Warriors main characters histories before being Warriors. They are fun and provide some nice background story to the main missions. The third setting is "Out to Coney" and it is a little more free form, but smaller in scope than games like GTA. You can go out and travel the neighborhood, stealing at your leisure and completing side objectives given by locals like doing some tags, beating some punks that invaded your turf and so on. They get boring quick, but are worth it since you can unlock bonus content by completing them.

The Flashback Missions and Side Objectives are unlocked by completing the main story missions as much of the content for the games Arena-like multiplayer mode. In it, which you can also play alone with the CPU, you can select any gang from the game(if you have unlocked them) or create your own and compete in side and violent games like King of the Hill. It is very entertaining and works fine for what it is, another extra.

Graphics(7.5/10)

The games graphics are very fine, they look a little bit drab, but it does so because it tries to capture the architecture and style of the movie. The models look fine as each gang sports their own colors, but outside of the Warriors and some main characters, the baddies are pretty generic looking. They look GOOD, but repeat themselves too often. That and the models for houses and other buildings repeat themselves as well. But the thing is their is almost zero frame rate problems and the amount of characters on screen usually goes over the dozen, whichs means that some sacrifices needed to be made to include this mass chaos.

Sound(8/10)

I loved the voice acting in this game. Very faithful to the movie and the setting it tries to represent. The different sounds are also very well done, specifically the smacks of combat. The grunts of pain are the low point since they sound repetitive and sometimes exaggerated.

Control(9/10)

Very simple, you will fight like a pro is less than 30 minutes.

Overall(8/10)

A great game to have that will take you back to the good days of mindless brawling. The sheer chaos the game generates, with how smart the AI behaves and the great scenes of all out violence are worth it.

[Benji]

<center>

Mario Kart DS

5 out of 10</center>

Review Reasoning...

Getting back into the game slowly after playing the Wi-Fi connection, the fact I've had the game many months and there is no review, I realise it's time to spread the love.

Plot Review

It's Mario... with Karts

The Pros

- Choice; There's plenty of characters, karts and tracks to go through,

- Wi-Fi; Finally, play the world, and lose, but it's still fun.

- Yoshi; I love him so.

- Choice; There are a lot of things to do, Time Trials, Missions, Battles, the whole shabang, single player isn't so boring anymore.

The Cons

- Length; Despite the amount of things to unlock, it still doesn't take long, removing the entire point of the unlockables.

- Handheld; Most of the fun behind Mario Kart is playing the game en masse and seeing how your friends are doing, on one small screen of your own it removes a lot of the fun behind playing.

- Snakers; On Wi-Fi you can 'cheat' to win with a tactic called snaking, it's annoying and removes any fun in an actual competitive race.

Final Notes

Severely average (but then I'm always harsh on games), if you're a fan of the series then get it, if you get a DS for the first time, get it, but if you're anything else, just ignore it and see what better games are out, or buy Double Dash for the Gamecube, fucking hilarity when drunk or not with others.

Edited May 1, 2006 by Benjirino~!

[EWRFan]

Baseball Mogul 2007

Platform: PC

Genre: Sports Management

Price: $24.99 on CD at EBGames

Intro:

Baseball Mogul 2007 is the newest incarnation of the popular baseball management sim. 2007 is perhaps the biggest leap the series has taken in their history. It tries to narrow the gap between Baseball Mogul and Out of the Park Baseball and suceeds at it. If you enjoyed the previous games, dont get scared! You can still play the game as you did before. Which means that you can play traditional Baseball Mogul or a more, micromanagers dream, strategy game.

Graphics: 8/10

Yes, graphics. Besides the new, prettier menu, the game interface has changed. Remember how it looked when you watched the games? It had player names across the field and little colored balls to represent men on base. It made bat sounds and some crowd noises and that was it. But this time, you get to see batters step up to the plate and pitchers throwing from the mound. They actually animate! Granted, this view is the same for all teams and only batters and pitches animate, but it is better than the previous incarnations.

Gameplay: 10/10

Typical mogul fare. You control a team, make the decisions, sign personel and so on. You can add no trade clauses and mutual options to sweeten deals. You also have to deal with salary arbitration for players. Once again you can make trades and have a trading block at your disposal.

Players also have their own personalities and ambitions which might improve or hurt team morale and chemistry. Each player's personality can change depending on the type of atmosphere you have in your clubhouse! Which means that getting rid of problematic players might change your star player's F happiness rating. Last year you had to dispose of that player in order to save chemistry because their was no way to improve that rating, but now, like I said, you can improve it by dealing away players whose personality is bad for your clubhouse and this will help improve the moral and personality of some players because they feel that now they fit in and the locker room is what they expected.

The minor league system is bigger now and easier to manage. They also added a player's skill menu in the bios which breaks down the players abilities, like hitting for contact or power, against left or right handed pitchers! Finally they added that! This can lead to a guy, like the Mets David Wright in my game, who is hitting for an awesome .367 against lefties, but only .240 against righties. Finally it makes sense to try and have several lefties on your bullpen, or some guys in the bench who can hit well against a certain type of pitcher for key situations. This dramatically increases the strategic depth of the game.

Specially because now you can manage games! Yeah, you can sit and watch like in the old games, but now you can tell which pitch to throw or how to pitch to a guy, while a hitter can guess the pitch and location! This is done like in other games like All Star Baseball. You choose a pitch to guess and then move a reticle to the area of the plate where you expect it. Of course you can skip that and just tell the batter to hit, bunt or drive the ball to a specific location. Like I said, having players only for specific situations is a must now, since you can substitute players and add pinch hitters or runners during games, something that was out of your hands in previous games.

Pitchers ratings are also more important now. In the old games, they had a pitch list, for example, Fastball 86, Curve 67, Change 79. The number was how effective they where with those pitches, but in the old games it served no real purpose. Now it does, since you can choose the pitch and location and also hitters have certain stats against certain pitches. For example, a hitter might have a +5 against fastballs and a -5 against curves, which means he has an extra bonus to make good contact on fastballs and a negative bonus when dealing with curves. If your pitcher has a Fastball with only a 57 skill or something and you face a hitter with a +10 on Fastballs, you can expect to see balls fly out of the park.

This game has licensed the Lahman Database, which means that it will be the only game on the market to support it this year. You can pay any season from 1901 to 2006 and FINALLY, results are more realistic to their era. No more guys hitting 80 HR's in 1925! Also pitchers from other era's carry their specific pitches, which means you can expect to see guys with the spitball in their repertories in seasons before that was banned. Several important pitchers also have their own, trademark specific pitches.

Overall: 9/10

It is not perfect, but it is the best Baseball Mogul ever! It is addictive, fun and makes you want to keep playing for hours on end. High recommendation!

[PkmnTrainerJ]

Resident Evil DS - 8/10

Review Reasoning...

My DS has recieved muchos love recently and I have re-embraced the touch screen.

Plot Review

Zombies! Everywhere! zOMG! Come on people, surely you know the basic plot of Resident Evil.

The Pros

- Classic Resi

- Rebirth Mode

- Co-op Mode

- Touch screen slashing

- My DS now posesses the power to scare me

- The retroness

The Cons

- Those scary dogs!

- Touch screen knifing the dogs is a bitch to learn how to do

Final Notes

The best horror game I have played in a long while. Get it, especially if you can convince someone else to get it. The you can kill zombies together.

Now, Benji doesn't like two reviews in one, and I feel the in the mood for doing a few so someone else do one.

[EWRFan]

Total Extreme Wrestling 2005

TEW 2005 is a wrestling simulator created by Adam Ryland and Greydog Software, avalible from their website for $34.99. It is a text- based game and does not feature any graphics outside of pictures and menus.

Graphics 10/10

For a text-based game, the presentation is fabolous. The menus, Cornellverse pictures and everything is extremely well done. The fact that most of the graphics can be costumized by you means that it is going to look as good as you make it.

Sound: 6/10

Decent background music and nice sound effects when you press buttons.

Gameplay: 10/10

This is where the game shines. I was one of those who was very dissapointed with 2004, I spend my hard earned money on a game I barely played past two weeks and went back to my free EWR. But this game just rocked! It is all 2004 should have been and more.

First of all, the storyline system is really good. By using a combination of angles, matches and other segments you can write very good storylines and fleshed out feuds between wrestlers. I bet you can make it better than Dave Lagana or Brian Gerwitz. Just make sure that you make storylines with angles that you have. Some of the quirks with scenarios is that sometimes storylines include angles that you dont have, like needing someone as a target in a specific situation and you can get stuck. The only way past that is to make an angle with the required things and then run the story. Yes, you can make your own angles and stories in the editor and this helps solve the problem, but it can get annoying.

The match writeups are significantly shorter compared to EWR, barely a line of text, but that is better since you can use your imagination instead of reading how Big Show did an huracarana or how Rey Mysterio powerbombed Great Kahli. The matches are so well done, you can create basically all types of matches to make and then tell the workers, trough road agents, what to do. You can call who wins, who losses, if it is a draw, time limit finish, DQ, interference, make someone look good, protect someone, tell the workers to have the best match possible, to script the match beforehand or call it in the ring and so much more! That means that some workers who flat out refuse to loose can be convinced to do the job by making his opponent look like a fluke, or by keeping him strong. You also get to tell how long the match will go, if any titles are on the line and which road agent will be in charge of the match, which can also affect how good it looks.

Road Agents are perhaps the most important staff. They are the ones in charge of keeping order backstage and doing the match layouts, which means that having a good road agent, or lack of one, can make or break your shows.

The game is now broken up in territories, which is great for old 80's scenarios. Promotion size now depends on your popularity across one or more territories or nations. By being known in more than one country can make you national, but to be global you need to be known worldwide. This is harder than it looks, since you are not likely to make much money by running shows in places where you are not popular, but that is the only way to gain popularity there. House Shows allow you to increase your popularity, but they require a certain amount of workers under written contract to be run. TV networks and PPV providers will consider you depending on your popularity levels in certain areas and the size of such networks and providers. You can negotiate with PPV providers at any time, but to negotiate TV contracts you need to wait until a specific time in the year, before each new season, just like in real life.

Promotion styles, like Sports Entertainment, Lucha Pure, Pure, Hybrid, Traditional, Women's Competitive, Women's T&A, Lucha Entertainment, Garbage and more can affect your popularity and how you book your shows. They each have pro's and con's and their respective fanbases in the different areas, so choose wisely. With some it can be almost impossible to make it over a certain size.

Overall the game just rocks! Buy it now!

Overall: 10/10

[Toe]

World Soccer Winning Eleven 9 for the PSP

This game is great. While it lacks depth, and does not have all the licensed teams and players like FIFA, the actual game play is amazing. It feels like real soccer, with the constant pushing and shoving for the ball. Unlike FIFA, you can actually slide tackle cleanly. The graphics are great, considering the limitations of the PSP.

I give this game the score 7/10. If it had a career mode like FIFA, it would be a nine. But despite that, I recommend this game to anyone who enjoys soccer games.

[EWRFan]

Romance of the Three Kingdoms III: Dragon of Destiny(genesis)

Intro:

Dragon of Destiny is the third entry in the turn-based, strategy/Economy/Political RPG from Koei that now spans over a dozen games, counting spin-offs and ports. It is one of those cult games that wont appeal to everyone and yet, develops a strong, rabid following among a few.

Graphics: 4/10

This game is all about the strategy and number crunching. But menus are very bland, with greenish tones and white letters, with rulers, officers or governor pictures that look good. The map is absent of color, I mean, yes it has color, but very drab. The battle graphics are really lame with stick soldier like units that dont animate and move stoically, cities that look small and undetailed, repetitive buildings, structures and trees, overall very bad graphics, but like I said, this game is not about the graphics.

Sound: 4/10

I should have said "it is not about the graphics and sounds". The game has like three different tracks that are repeated over and over, the menus themselves dont have sound effects when you press something(unless it cannot be done or it is alerting you about something, then it makes a sound) and battle sounds are lame. A "tack-tack-tack" sound when you attack, a "woosh" for arrows, another sound for charges, some clashes for duels and nothing else. For a game this good, it sure makes sure to make you NOT want to play it with the bad presentation.

Gameplay: 9/10

But here it shines. In this game you take control of one of several rulers in the "Three Kingdoms" period of ancient China. The story of your ruler is basically try to unify China by any means necessary. This requires you to micromanage all fields.

First, you have a list of officers. Each officer has skills like WAR, NAVY,ARMY and CHARISMA that are used for military purposes and others like INTELLIGENCE and POLITICAL that are used for more civilized tasks. Depending on their skill levels, they might be suited to be Advisers, which(surprise) advise you on what to do, Generals, who command bigger armies and have other war related benefits, or simple Military Officers, who can work with troops and go to war, but are not as skilled as Generals, or Civil Officers, which are really important since they usually excel at working with your citizens on irrigation and investments and can work on those tasks for extended periods of time. They can also spy rival cities and try to cause sabotages or revolts. It is true that without good Generals or Military Officers you dont win wars, but without Civils, your city wont even get off the ground(or will take a huge time to do so!)

But how do you get your city of the ground? Lots of busywork! Irrigation increases the amount of terrain suitable for food production. Planting crops leads to bigger food tax revenue in the summer. This food you use to feed your troops during times of war, give them to your citizens to increase their morale and happiness towards you, or sell/trade it for other stuff. You need to invest your own gold in the city economy in order to make even more gold in return during the gold tax period in December/January. This gold you can use to buy food, reward officers and increase their loyalty, buy horses, crossbows or strong crossbows for your army or trade/give it away for other stuff.

Then comes morale. Your city needs to be kept happy, so give them food and keep an acceptable tax rate, otherwise, rebellion could occur and less people would be willing to come into your army. Flood control is another important aspect that you need to invest on, since having 100 flood control can save your hide during a natural disaster and also increases the hardness of your walls, making them harder and more resistant to your enemies(in other words, giving them a hard time to try and siege the city).

You also need to hire/draft soldiers. Hiring is more efficient and less costly to your purse and your support, but sometimes drafting is necessary during emergencies. This soldiers need to be trained and rallied to increase morale, which reduces the amount of soldiers you loose during combat.

This is all during pre-planning! Then comes the decision to negotiate with rival rulers, things like alliances, joint invasions and the like. Then it comes invading other cities, trying to outnumber the opposition and siege the castle, where you can claim control of the city....and start again. Yes, you need, usually, to rebuild this cities since more than likely you hurt Flood Control greatly and the people wont be too happy to see a new ruler, so you need to rally their support. You can also ask a ruler to surrender, altough I have never seen that happen, or take over vacant cities, which is an even greater project, since all of them have sucky economies, almost non-existant flood control and food production, and very low moral/support. But since you need to own ALL the cities to win the game, more than likely you will stumble upon this cities and have to rescue them from their misery, one gold piece at a time.

This is just part of the game. Formulating your own strategies, hoping your allies dont backstab you when you leave a city exposed to them in order to pursue another city, deciding if recruiting a captured enemy officer is worth the risk of revolt, deciding wether to kill a captured enemy ruler or decide to let him go, hoping that one day he turns into a powerful officer you can hire....so many things!

Replayability: 10/10

Let's see...we have something like 40 rulers, 6 scenarios across different time periods in the war(which can add or substract the amount of enemy rulers and avalible vacant cities, among other factors), the ability to create your own rulers and officers, take control of a vacant city and try to compete with the big boys....yes, lots of stuff to do and usually no two games are the same. Specially since you can switch between Historical Mode, which follows the events as they did happen in real life, or fictional, which makes alliances and battles all the more random. This is a great game, but not for everyone.

[EWRFan]

Phantasy Star(Master System)

Yay...we are going 8 bit old school with this fantastic RPG!

Story:

Phantasy Star is the first in the series and appeared originally in the Sega Master System, but has been ported to other systems in collection packages. The story follows Alys, whose brother is murdered by officers of the former good King Lassic. Before he dies, he passes on his short sword and tells Alys to find a mystical warrior known as Odin and stop Lassic's evil plans. Of course, Dark Force, the series typical super evil manifestation is behind it all, but you wont know it until the end.

Graphics: 10/10

For an 8 bit game, this rocks. Battles take place in first person, but you dont see your character, only a great looking enemy and he does some animations for attacks. When you attack, you only see a ray of light or some other animation depending on the weapon you carry. But for 8 bits, with colorful enviroments, first person, pseudo-3D dungeons, the game looks very sweet.

Sounds: 7/10

The music is very good, but some tracks, like the music that plays when you are inside towns, can get very annoying. The sound effects are nothing to write home about, but good for 8 bits with the variety of sword slashes and other sounds.

Gameplay: 8/10

If you have played any similiar Japaneese old school RPG's, then you know what is coming. Constant random battles, having to stick to one area and level up repeatedly until you are tough enough to move over to the next area(specially at the beginning), buying and finding weapons and items to use, learning magic spells, exploring dungeons, beating bosses and so on.

The random battles can be really annoying early in the game when you have just Alys and are incredibly weak, or later on when you are so strong you can mop the floor with almost all the enemies. You have to level up a lot! The game is really hard and demands that you are around Level 8 before you even venture far out of the first city! You can die in almost any random encounter! So battle, level up, save a lot, rinse and repeat until you are ready to move on. The story is good enough to keep you hooked as it seems everything most the found the hard way and not earned. You are task to look for Odin, but when you find him, he has been turned into stone by a Medusa and now you must seek a potion to heal him. The only potion that can cure him was seen hanging on a cat's necklace. So you must find this rare talking cat known as Myau(who joins your party and fights) in order to cure Odin. The last member of the party is a wizard name Noah. You need to level up a lot, explore tons of caves, pyramids and all sorts of weird dungeons, some of them very secret where very powerful weapons abound. You can even find three vehicles that will allow you to travel trough ground, water and ice respectively, explore three planets...well....a ton to do and see before the game is over. It can take 25-40 hours the first time trough, but you can finish it in 1/2 of that once you know what to do and how to level up faster.

Replayability:3/10

This is where it sucks. Once you see everything, chances are, you wont play again. And if you do, it will be to find some secret weapon or boss you didnt see the first time trough(which usually happens since some stuff is really far off the main paths) and that is it. I have beaten the game like 4 times, but it usually been years in between playtroughs( I was 6 when I got it, I am 21 now so do the math).

[EWRFan]

Capitalism: PLUS!(PC)

Intro:

Capitalism: Plus is a business management/simulation game for the PC, which is basically an updated version of the original Capitalism. It is quite old, running in Windows 95, but is very engaging and challenging. It is such a good simulation that it is even used during business management classes in several universities!

Graphics: 6/10

Solid graphics for the time. You get a city map made of buildings, streets and empty patches of land. The map can be only one city or several cities thrown in. Looks a lot like SimCity 2000. Menus are ok looking, with your picture, corporate logo, corporate color and other things to make it look professional.

Sound: 5/10

Music plays only during menus and not during gameplay itself. Sound effects are limited to construction sounds when you build something, sound alerts in the menus, cars in the streets and the like. Very limited soundtrack, but ok for the type of game it is.

Gameplay: 10/10

This is what it would be like if you owned your own company. Everything is at your disposal and I suggest playing trough the tutorials to truly learn what to do. First of all, the base of the game is building retail stores to sell goods and outdo the competition. The competition can be a variety of corporations or the local competitors or small markets. Products can be bought at seaports or at factories/farms of your own corporation, or other corporations who do not manufacture for internal sale only. Then it is up to you to decide a brand strategy, the price of the product and the like. Brand strategies include having each product as a separate label or one big label for all products, which depends if you want to specialize in one particular industry or tackle them all. It is ok for example, for frozen beef and frozen chicken to come from the same label, but....would you buy say..diapers with the same label as the meats?

Retail stores need a chain of employees to work. This include the purchase units, who make sure to stock the store with the product you determine and the sales unit who sells them. You can also add private labeling units or/and advertising units, linking with media firms at a monthly cost to promote your products.

After you start turning profits, you can buy even more stuff. Building farms for livestock or crops that can be turned into more products, buying land with natural resources such as iron ore, coal, silica, chemical minerals and the like, to build mines on top and exploit them, building oil wells or timber camps, factories in which you can process this raw goods into other items and the like. You can use steel and rubber to make car tires for example, and sell them to other companies, or you can manufacture the engine and car body and then combine all three to make a car and sell it! You can buy and sell stock from other companies or issue shares of your own and even do hostile takeovers on other companies!

Yes this is the ultimate business sim!

Replayability: 10/10

Incredibly addictive. The game comes bundled with several scenarios for you to play and also has a freeform game editor in which you adjust the dificulty by altering the map size, number of competitors, products in the market, starting year(which affect avalible technologies and products), number of seaports and AI tendencies for the ultimate challenge! Lots of replay value!

[ROC]

Need for Speed: Underground 2 (GBA) - 5.5/10

Review Reasoning...

Because I played it for some reason...

Plot Review

You race...and that's it.

The Pros

1. It's somewhat addictive.

It's a good timewaster and it's somewhat interesting the whole logic of turning your car into something super.

The Cons

1. It's repetitive.

Most races feel the same and you feel there is nothing really separating them.

2. The whole Underground story is completely taken out.

Regardless of what you thought of the NFS U2 story, it not being in this version really brings the whole point of the game down.

3. It's short.

It doesn't take long to complete.

Final Notes

Regardless of how much nagged me about it, it had a weird hypnotic effect on me and I still don't mind playing it. I'll give it a 5.5 for the benefit of the doubt.

[Reddaye]

Sid Meier's Pirates! Live The Life (XBOX)

Features:

* Overtake and command 27 different ship types, enhanced with assorted ammo, cannon and other Upgrades

* Take on deadly foes from all sides - Merchant and military captains, ferocious pirates, evil gentry and even rival suitors

* Dispatch your buccaneers in battles and try to take over entire cities -- confront enemies on ramparts, mansions, even taverns

* Collect items to help you become a better pirate - swords, spyglasses, armor, even hats & coats

* As your wealth increases you'll get chances to impress the governor's daughter -- charm her with your fame, heroism and even dancing skills

The Why:

I actually bought this game way back in November but never had the time or energy to devote any significant time to it. Having recently watched Pirates of the Carribean my need to sail the high seas while looting and plundering every ship and port in sight has become too difficult to resist. I started playing yesterday and have hardly stopped since then. Sid Meier will truly go down in history as making some of the most addictive games ever.

The What:

As a young boy of eight your family has come under debt to a Spanish noble known as Montlebon. The ship carrying gold to pay off that debt is lost at sea and the noble comes to collect, enslaving your family while you escape into the night. Ten years later you're slaving onboard a ship on the high seas under a cruel captain. Suffering enough of the shabby treatment you lead the crew to a mutiny, overthrowing the captain and taking control of the ship. What you do from there is totally up to you.

Graphics - 7/10

Not much to say here. The graphics aren't jaw dropping, yet at the same time don't make your eyes bleed either. Anyone looking for incredibly realistic visuals should go elsewhere as Pirates is much more of a colorful cartoony style of game. Everything is bright and colorful without any of the grime and filth you'd expect from a game about pirates. That's hardly a knock however as the recreation of the Carribean seas is very pleasing to look at. Waves flow along and foam at the coasts. Clouds float along overhead and the coming of a storm can be seen with ripping waves and dark storm clouds (complete with thunder and lightening).

The character models are decent. Your character is easily the most detailed of all, including lines and wrinkles that appear on his face as he ages. Each of the nine famous pirates are recreated nicely right down to the flaming matches in Blackbeard's beard.

Due to the viewpoint it's hard to get into the gritty details about the ships. Each type looks different based on size, flags, sails, shape, etc. Sails visibly take damage during battle until they collapse from too much brutality. The three different types of cannon shot (round, chain, and grapeshot) are easily recognisible and you're treated to some pretty little explosions as the ships sink into Davy Jones' locker. You'll even see some debris, tossed cargo, and sailor's that abandoned ship floating in the water as you engage the enemy.

(PC Version Screen)

Sound - 8/10

Once again nothing offensive. Music fits the theme and even changes depending where you are. Noticeable changes in music can be heard when you're nearing missionary dwellings, pirate hideouts, and ports owned by the different nations. Every different faction in the game has a specific theme that will play when you near their territory. It's a nice subtle thing that adds a little something to the game.

The sound effects are beautiful and really capture the feel of the sea. Crashing waves, seagulls crowing, the explosions of cannons, the collapsing of ship masts; are all here in great detail. The screams of crew abandoning ship as it sinks into the brine is a nice touch if you're a sadist like me .

The one major fault I can find in the sound is the annoying "Simspeak" that everyone uses. No one speaks English here, they just babble out random little gibberings that can get a little irritating after a while. It's not worth muting the TV for since you'll miss the other sounds and excellent music if you do.

Controls - 8/10

Since Pirates is basically a collection of smaller games blended into one making a control scheme that is easy to use in each situation is important. That's been pulled off here quite well. Ship control makes use of almost every single button, including the triggers to turn, the face buttons to fire, the D-Pad to change shot type, and the white button to raise and lower sails. Dancing uses the face buttons; while sword fighting uses combinations of the joystick and face buttons for the different moves. Everything works well enough once you get used to come of the naunces in the swordfighting and dancing.

Gameplay - 9/10

This is where Pirates truly shines. From the instant you get control of your own ship you can do whatever you want. Three countries have taken up residence in the Carribean: the English, the French, the Spanish, and the Dutch. Depending on the time period each of these countries start with a different number of ports and types of ships to rule the seas with.

Although you choose one of the four as your nationality it really makes little difference in the long run. You can ally yourself with any of the four or none of them at all if you choose. If you side with them you'll earn promotions, land grants, gold, special missions, and even the chance to whoo a govenor's daughter. All of these things add into your final score upon retirement if you're worried about that sort of thing. If not you can attack any of their ships and ports and find recluse in the different pirate havens located along the coasts. Even the Natives and Missionaries make appearances offering you a few different services.

Pirates features a real time economy system. The countries wage and end wars as the years pass. Every port, whether it be a town, fort, city, etc has it's own economy which affects how many sailors will be willing to join you, how much money the merchants have, and how much goods will be sold for. It's possible to destory a thriving city's economy by sending Indian raiding parties, pirates, enemy ships, and your own men to shack it. If you're looking to gain a countrie's favour you can even install one of their govenor's into power after you take over.

The game has a nice number of different gameplay types that factor into the overall experience:

- Ship combat

- Sword fighting

- Dancing

- Land battles

- Stealth

Ship combat occurs whenever you're in range of a target and hit the 'X' button. Your flag ship will engage all nearby enemy ships. This is the most common thing you'll be doing the entire game so it's important to get a handle on manuvering your ship and which type of shot is best used when.

Sword fighting is another common feature in the came. You'll face off against an opponent in various locations; usually on the deck of a ship but sometimes in a garden or tavern. Timing is everything as you attempt to block enemy thrusts and counter with your own. Oftentimes the crews will be battling around you so time is of the essence if you're outnumbered and losing men fast.

Dancing is possibly the hardest of the activities to learn. If you want to romance a Govenor's daughter you'll need to learn how to dance. On lower difficulties you'll be given icons showing which buttons to press, however as you go increase the difficulty level of the game you'll only have the movements of your partner to judge from. Timing your presses with the beat of the music will let you perform a "flurry" which is a fancier form of dance step. The more impressively you dance the more the daughter will like you. This increases her affection, gives you info, and if you're good enough even special gifts to aid you.

Land battles work similar to Civilization or other turn based strategy games. You and the AI take turns moving your units on the battlefield. You'll make use of rocks, hills, and forest to gain advantage as well as flanking the enemy to generate an attack bonus. Once you defeat all the enemy units or reach the city gates the battle is won. Alternately if all of your units are destroyed the battle is lost.

Lastly is stealth, the least common of the activities. If a country has a bounty on your head you'll be unable to dock in their ports. You'll instead need to enter the port at night, avoiding the guards, to sneak into the area you want to go.

All of this is only a light brushing of what can be done in this game. So much more awaits you if you decide to take the helm of your own ship. Trading, pirating, privateering, treasure hunting, and hundreds of other optional tasks make every game you play completely unique.

Overall - 9/10 (Not An Average)

This game certainly isn't for everyone. It does many things, but doesn't do them with an incredible amount of depth. Each game lasts roughly 8-10 hours depending on a few things. It's the replay value that keeps you coming back for more. Pirates is really lighthearted fun for people who are looking for an addictive strategy distraction for a while.