17 public written reviews
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I have a great fondness for rhythm games and 1980's Time Life infomercials, so Guitar Hero Encore: Rocks the 80s was really a no-brainer for me. The fun-as-ever gameplay is identical to Guitar Hero II and there’s nothing new in terms of game modes, and yes it was expensive when it came out, but GH: 80s is still a blast. First of all, if you're not one for Guitar Hero in any of its forms, this game is not going to…
It’s kind of a stretch to call 24: The Game a “game” because that is not the reason that anyone has played it. As a piece of the 24 universe it is meant to fill in some gaps and tie up some loose threads between seasons 2 and 3 of the show, and to that end it does a respectable job. Several threads from the end of Day 2 that were either hardly addressed or not explained at all in Day 3 have lots of light shed on…
When I first saw the videos and buzz about Guitar Hero in late 2005, I was intrigued. A year later I asked for a PlayStation 2 for Christmas and Guitar Hero was the first thing I thought of. However, its sequel Guitar Hero II had just come out and so I asked for that instead. When I opened my presents that morning and popped GHII into my new system, I could not have been more satisfied, because Guitar Hero II is a…
When I first saw Guitar Hero on the PS2 in late '05, I was intrigued. When at last the time came for me to own a PlayStation 2 Guitar Hero was the first thing I thought of. When I finally found it and popped it into my system, I could not have been more satisfied, because Guitar Hero is an awesome game and a blast to play. To be frank, this game rocks. I've played other rhythm games before (long ago), but GH's…
God of War II is an incredible example of improving on the first game while not drastically altering gameplay in any major way. The main gameplay elements of visceral combat and challenging-but-not-difficult puzzle solving are just as present as before, but the fact that they feel so much better than the first game make God of War II a game for the ages. GoW II picks up from the end of the first game: you are…
I was weaned on games in the 16-bit era, and the few games I played will always stick in my head and have a place in my heart. I was a SNES fan but I always liked a few games on the Sega Genesis, especially the Sonic the Hedgehog games, and I'd always make good on the few chances I got to play any of them. About a decade later, after many shifts in the video game landscape, Sega packed numerous Sonic games together…
It's hard to believe that Pokémon has been around for as long as it has. Memories of everyone I know caught up with Red and Blue, talking about their collections, tricking each other into trading for bad creatures and singing the Pokérap are just a few choice bits. It was slightly embarrassing (we were all 13 to 15 then), but we didn't care. I even went as far as buying the 2.B.A. Master CD and the special Pokémon…
When opportunity knocks, one has to be a fool not to answer it. Despite the fact that the GC version was just fine, when I finally purchased an Xbox I felt I needed to exchange it for the Xbox version. And while from most points of view the two versions are identical, it's a number of little things that make the Xbox version of Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory the better game. The first Splinter Cell was…
Read the full review Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory
The politics of gaming is something that many of us in the online community have to deal with on a daily basis. There are those who will always favour one system, or one company, or one game above all others, and this becomes all too apparent in some people when reading something they've written. Of course, it's possible to justify, such as when two or three systems get the same game and comparisons will be made,…
Read the full review Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory
I don't play many first-person shooters, but XIII (thirteen) is an exception to the rule of space marines and alien hunters. I received it as a gift several months ago and let it sit on my shelf until I had the idea to dust it off, and I'm glad I did. Tight controls, a gripping story and an incredibly stylish look make XIII stand out from the pack. XIII is based on a Belgian comic book that began in the mid-1980s,…
**Originally written October 6, 2003.** Being a sports fan with a Gamecube isn’t as easy as it is for my PS2 or XBOX counterparts, but fortunately for myself and those of you like me, EA Sports has created an impressive game in NHL 2004 that is rather a step up from it’s previous year. NHL 2004 has lost none of its predecessors’ excitement, and when you start this game up, you will more or less lose yourself in the…
As far back as 2000, when the Gamecube was first unveiled to the public at that fateful Spaceworld, Nintendo was saying how amazing they could make the connectivity between Gamecube and the forthcoming Game Boy Advance, and all the games, features and ideas that could take advantage of it. However, the way it was first described to the public was little more than a dream as the two systems panned out. What GC-GBA…
Read the full review The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventures
December 25, 1993. The first present I opened that morning was my first Game Boy, along with two games: Tetris, a staple in those days, and The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening, the newest chapter in Nintendo's successful adventure franchise, as well as Link's first foray into Game Boy. Over a course of many months, I slowly but surely progressed through Link's Awakening, and even as other games came along, it…
Read the full review The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening DX
A sports game is never really something I'll pay much attention to, with an exception popping up here or there once in a while. It helps if the sport isn't the only part of the game, and there are many things to enrich the game experience. Mario Golf: Advance Tour gives an arguably dull sport all the zing it needs, just as well, if not better, than it's predecessors. From playing mechanics to side games, story…
Being a Nintendo loyalist all my life, I never enjoyed Sonic in it's full glory. There was a time years ago when I had a Sega Genesis temporarily, and Sonic 2 was all I'd ever want to play. Having only recently caught up with the world of GBA with the Classic NES series, I realized I missed out on Sonic's immersion into Nintendo's family. Sega's latest offering, aptly titled Sonic Advance 3, was a game I'd heard…
To be entirely truthful, Metroid Fusion was my first real experience with the Metroid franchise. I played Super Metroid back in the day, but until recently it didn't have an impact on me. When I finally got bored of Zelda and Mario Kart and ran out of games to borrow from other people back in early 2004, I figured Metroid Fusion would be a good bet; at least it had some connectivity features with Metroid Prime. Oh,…
(written in February 2005) I'd been anticipating Echoes for a long while by the time it was released, and it was everything I expected from Retro's follow-up to Prime. The game essentially starts like every other Metroid game: something has run afoul for the Galactic Federation, and they've contracted Samus to investigate the incident. This time, some of the Federation's soldiers have been lost on the rogue planet…
