33 public reviews
The views here are this user’s only and are not representative of Giant Bomb's thoughts and opinions on the discussed video game. GB's official reviews reside at giantbomb.com/reviews.
Quantum of Solace is a solid Bond game that mixed third-person and first-person shooter gameplay styles to deliver a satisfying single-player mission and a good selection of multiplayer types. The game runs on the Call of Duty 4 engine, and you can definitely feel the resemblance as you play. All the elements are there: bullets go through walls, the weapons pack a hefty punch, and the visuals are still impressive.…
Though short and light on content, NBA Homecourt is a fun basketball game with plenty of over-the-top, eye-popping dunks and maneuvers. The game takes its inspiration from street ball, as opposed to the usual NBA Live or 2K titles. Homecourt does an admirable job of capturing the "essence" of street ball, through personal stories narrated by players such as Carmello Anthony and Rip Hamilton about their rise from…
The Bourne Conspiracy is a relatively faithful rendering of its cinematic source in video game form through a combination of third-person shooter and beat-'em-up gameplay mechanics. The story traces the narrative of The Bourne Identity, and it's quite fun to relive some of the film's most thrilling moments. The feel of the movie itself is captured quite well with the aid of well-done, albeit short cinematics and an…
"Crackdown" is addictive. I can't attribute it to a singular reason, but one of them has gotta be the brilliant way the developers integrated rpg elements into a free-roaming action game. As an "enforcer" for "the Agency," you are tasked with taking out a series of gangs that have infected Pacific City. You are the product of an Agency experiment to create a super-soldier with hyper-fast evolutionary abilities.…
"Kameo" is a solid title geared towards a younger audience, but provides enough variety and challenge to satisfy gamers of any age. The game revolves around an elf princess named Kameo who sets out to free members of her family who have been kidnapped by the troll king Thorn. Along the way, Kameo acquires the ability to transform into a variety of unique creatures, all of whom have their unique abilities. The game…
"Civilization Revolution" is a well-crafted turn-based strategy game that brings out the best the genre has to offer, without being handicapped by the limitations of console controls. Players build their own civilizations from ancestral beginnings up through the modern age. There are four possible ways to win: researching the most advanced technologies, gathering the most wealth, cultivating the most culture, or…
"Dead Space" is a masterfully executed, freakishly thrilling survival horror action game that looks, plays and feels like your worst nightmare (in a good way). Suffice it to say I had no idea what I was in for when I started this game. I assumed it'd be a cheap rip-off of "Resident Evil 4," based on the similarity of its camera system and the fact that it was created by EA. My assumption couldn't have been more…
Few games in recent memory have been as controversial as the Norse mythology epic from Silicon Knights, "Too Human." Purportedly in conception across multiple platforms for close to a decade, the game generated incredible hype after the first trailer was released. But upon its first gameplay showing, "Too Human" was universally panned by journalists for its poorly designed camera system and jarring performance…
At PAX 2008, I saw a booth for "Left 4 Dead" and passed it by, thinking it was some lame adaptation of "House of the Dead" from my childhood arcade days. Boy, did I eat my words. "Left 4 Dead" is without a doubt the surprise hit of the year. This game came from nowhere to deliver a zombie-slaying experience like no other. The campaign consists of four separate missions cast as different B-movie horror flicks,…
I have to admit up front, I've never been a huge "Star Wars" fan. But when I first saw the trailer for "Star Wars: The Force Unleashed," I was pumped. The prospect of harnessing and wielding the power of the Force first-hand as opposed to watching it in action from the theatre seat strongly drew my interest. For the most part, "The Force Unleashed" delivers. Fry your opponents with lightning, blast them sky high…
It's a rare thing in this day and age for game publishers to take a genuine risk and invest in a game concept that steps outside the norm. So I was extremely excited by the potential of Assassin's Creed when I first saw its debut trailer. Assassin's Creed tries something truly innovative by combining a third-person "parkour" (free-running) simulation with interactive crowd dynamics. The concept revolves around a…
If I had to rank the 3 Halo's, here'd be my ordering: 1. Halo 3 2. Halo: Combat Evolved 3. Halo 2 Halo: CE was Bungie's original masterpiece that pushed the console FPS genre to new heights by refining game mechanics and creating an immersive sci-fi world. Halo 2 was a solid follow-up, but given the limitations of the original Xbox and certain level design choices, failed to surpass its predecessor. Why do I think…
With GTA IV, Rockstar intended to make its splash on the next-generation stage. In some ways, the game surpassed my expectations, but by and large, I was disappointed by the entry. Compared to past GTA's, GTA IV is much more realistic--everything from the physics to the animations and the environment reflect a sharp shift from the cartoony aesthetics of its predecessors. The game mechanics are also markedly…
Army of Two is a pretty run-of-the-mill 3rd person shooter that doesn't try to stretch the boundaries of the genre, but nevertheless is a fun game if you have a friend. The game emphasizes cooperation, and its objective is to bring back that classic cooperative gameplay trailblazed by predecessors like Contra. Unfortunately, Army of Two is nowhere near as iconic or memorable as its older brother, despite its 3-D…
Motorstorm is a fantastically entertaining racer with great music, beautiful visuals, and heart-pumping racing action. The game conveys an immersive sense of speed and competition is fierce as AI opponents constantly try to ram you off the road. Luckily, the crashes are fantastically over-the-top and never fail to entertain. In some ways, the game plays like a boxing match between yourself and your opponents as you…
With the leap from the Playstation 2 to Playstation 3, Naughty Dog decided to chart a different course by breaking from their Jak & Daxter roots to create a completely different type of game. Uncharted: Drake's Fortune combines classic platforming, duck-n-cover gameplay, and engaging storytelling to deliver one of the best, most enthralling action/adventure games in recent memory. Visually, this game is a stunner.…
When Halo first arrived, it was hailed as a revolution for the console first-person shooter genre. Seven years later, this game still holds up as one of the best console FPS's ever made. What makes Halo great is not one particular factor, but a convergence of different qualities that add up to a remarkable experience. From a presentation point of view, Halo is a gorgeous game, with huge sweeping vistas that invite…
When the first Heavenly Sword trailer debuted, I thought that HS would rival God of War in greatness. Unfortunately, I was wrong. Heavenly Sword is a so-so experience with many flaws and a few inspirational qualities. Heavenly Sword's biggest flaw is that its combat system simply isn't very fun to use. Ninja Theory decided to employ a new sysetm whereby the character automatically blocks, but the user must be in the…
Arguably the first true next-generation rpg, the Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion sports a huge world to explore, countless npc characters to meet, and a mind-blowing array of quests to embark on. However, the core of Oblivion's fighting engine is dull, and the world, while beautiful, is repetitive. The sword-to-sword combat that dominates the game is clumsy, and you'll be duking it out with foes toe-to-toe in…
In Chrono Trigger, players follow the footsteps of Crono as he journeys through temporal dimensions to save the world from its seemingly inevitable demise at the destructive claws of Lavos, an evil slug-like creature intent on sucking the life force out of earth in order to propogate its genes throughout the universe. Throughout his journey, Crono meets a colorful cast of companions, including Lucca, his tech savvy…
Ninja Gaiden is simply one of the best action games of all time. You play as Ryu Hayabusa, a young ninja out to exact revenge on the Vigoor empire for destroying your village and stealing the infamous Dark Dragon Blade. Graphically, this game is a stunner, with some of the most polished visuals and spectacular effects ever in an Xbox game. The animations are also noteworthy, as Ryu moves with a fluidity and…
The Godfather: the Game is based on the 1972 cinematic masterpiece directed by Francis Ford Coppola, which is based on the classic novel by Mario Puzo. The world of the film is convincingly recreated here, with cities and people taken straight from its setting. Some of the cutscenes even feature the original actors (James Caan and Robert Duvall reprise their roles as Sonny and Tom). Most of the characters are…
My eyes are blurry, my head is whoozy, and my ears hear the sound of gunfire when I sleep at night. Why? Because I've been playing Gears of War four nights in a row. So far, I've beaten the game twice and my opinion is that Gears is an addictive, intense, and fun experience that will keep you locking, loading, and unloading 'til the wee hours of the morning. I had my doubts. For all the hype, it just didn't occur to…
Several years ago, David Jaffe and the gang at Sony Santa Monica set out to create a game steeped in Greek mythology that would allow players to unleash their violent fantasies by playing as a bald-headed, albino badass. That game was the highly acclaimed and popular God of War, and it broke new ground in the action-adventure genre. God of War II picks up where God of War left off and delivers a satisfying…
FFXII is a highly well-crafted RPG that any fan of the genre should enjoy. I'll evaluate the game category by category. The combat system (called gambits) is unique from other games in the series in that you program a lot of the characters' actions before battle. This can be confusing at first, but once you learn how to use it, it cuts out a lot of the micro-managing of past games. You can also stop the game to…
Jade Empire is martial arts-themed RPG from famed game creators Bioware. It has its share of flaws, but also many redeeming elements. Let me cover the flaws first. The biggest flaw in the game is the combat system. Like Greg Kasavin notes in the GameSpot review, you can literally use the same tactic on every enemy. You basically just attack an enemy and jump over him when he comes at you. Rinse and repeat. Your…
The last installment of GTA was "gangsta." GTA: Liberty City Stories is the return of "gangster" to the GTA franchise. If you've played GTA III, LCS is very alike. For a budget price, it's a fun game, albeit a bit out of place in an industry that's advanced beyond the era of GTA III. As such, the gameplay seems a bit simplistic, and the graphics a bit bland. Nonetheless, it's still a fun game, and if you're a GTA…
Metal Gear Solid is Hideo Kojima's masterpiece that set the stage for one of the most renowned series in videogames of all time. Kojima is one of the founding fathers of the stealth genre, and MGS was his first vision of Metal Gear in a 3-D world. To this day, MGS still holds up as a fun, intense gameplay experience with a gripping story and unhindered display of Kojima's directorial talent and philosophical…
For starters, Fable is a relatively pretty game. Although it doesn't push the massive polygon counts of more recent PC games, Fable's art style really presents the world of Albion well, and gives a real endearing quality. The world of Albion is quite restrictive, though, as you pass from area to area a la Metal Gear Solid. I would have liked to see the world more open-ended. The sound of Fable has its qualities and…
When Shinji Mikami of Capcom set out to re-invent the survival horror genre, he did so by giving the player more bullets, then multiplying the number of enemies. The result is an experience that retained the vulnerability of being overwhelmed by mobs of unnerving creatures, but added the element of action-style gameplay. RE4 is really an astounding graphical achievement on the PS2. These are some of the best…
Final Fantasy VII is a superb rpg. Although it has noticeably aged since its initial release almost a decade ago, FFVII retains its impact and relevance by its compelling storytelling. Gameplay - Gameplay consists of classic turn-based gameplay. The levelling up system allows you to level up both your characters and your materia, which are spheres that increase your abilities, magic, skills, etc. All in all, it is…
The success of God of War lies in its cinematic presentation. As you play the game, you will gradually feel like you've taken on a grand adventure within Greek mythology. Gameplay - The gameplay in God of War is quite well done. The combat mechanics are varied and keep you on your toes. However, this is not an action game with the depth of something like Ninja Gaiden. Also, the basic cutting mechanic lacks a…
The seminal example of what aesthetic expression within the videogame medium aspires to be. Gameplay: The gameplay in Snake Eater is reflective of its predecessors. Controls are basically the same as before, albeit the additions of CQC and throat-slitting. The control scheme might be quite daunting for beginners, but given the multiplicity of actions one might take, it's organized well enough, but just takes a bit…
