Reviews & Articles

Seven years ago, one month after its July release, I received a copy of Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic for my birthday. The copy was for the Xbox, which I didn’t own. Lucky for me, a friend of mine allowed me to borrow his prized Xbox for a few weeks so I could play through this amazing storyline from “a galaxy far, far away.”

I love Gettysburg. I’ve been infatuated with the ghostly town since high school. It’s a weird mix of Civil War days and modern times that has intrigued me. How can a town so full of life be full of ghosts? If I could, I would photograph them all and explore every gritty part of the town. However, instead of going south for several weeks, I have gone on a trip to rural Japan. And be sure to bring plenty of courage as we explore the world in Fatal Frame II: Crimson Butterfly Director's Cut.

Sometimes, as you all know, a good thing slips through the cracks. I can think of several games that for whatever reason were overlooked. There is Beyond Good and Evil, an awesome action adventure game. There is Ico — my personal favorite. And then there is a game that was probably lost due to Morrowind’s influence. Yeah, Morrowind’s a great game. But it caused Arx Fatalis to be an item of obscurity. And those who did pick up Arx Fatalis found a wonderful linear adventure that lets you fiddle with the physical world.

I admit it. I am getting up there in years as a gamer. My childhood was spent playing on those ancient-looking Nintendo, Super Nintendo and Sega Genesis. It was back in this day that games were *hard.* And very few of them were accessible to the average player. It took patience, time and skill to progress forward. One of the major companies back in those days was Capcom, a tour-de-force of old school-difficulty. The company also is one of the biggest offenders of selling the same game over and over again. In other words, Capcom prostituted its characters to make a profit. This is easily seen in the majority of the Resident Evil series, Mega Man series, Mega Man X series, Ghost ’n’ Goblins series, Street Fighter series, Devil May Cry series and so forth. Ironically, Capcom also is one of the best innovators in the game industry, which is best seen in the following games: Okami, Resident Evil 4, Onimusha and, of course, the original three Mega Man games. Now, gamers of all ages have the opportunity to see the best and worst of all eight Mega Man games in the Mega Man Anniversary Collection.

I find it difficult to go out and spend $50 or $60 on a brand new game unless I'm really, really desperate for it. So ... I like to take a look in the $10 to $20 section, where older games lie waiting for the, uh, money-conscious to pick them up. I had heard a lot about Fable when it first came out, so it was definitely a title for me to get as soon as I saw it on the cheap.

Whenever I get a new movie on DVD, the bonus feature that intrigues me the most is always the deleted scenes. I can't wait to watch the movie again and then watch all the deleted scenes to see what things have been removed. After all, who can resist the siren song of additional scenes to a movie you already know you like? Reservoir Dogs for Xbox is essentially deleted scenes from the movie of the same name.

I played a lot of the original Project Gotham Racing on the Xbox. That was one of our group's go-to games when we were together, especially when the wives wanted to play with us.

So, when I got my 360, I also picked up a copy of Project Gotham Racing 3. I knew how beautiful it looked and couldn't wait to play it again. Then something came and bit me on the rear.

It took me awhile before I had the guts to actually go on a real rollercoaster. Besides the potential of me losing my lunch, I do like the thrill and excitement of an amusement park ride. Thrillville brings that amusement park to your home, allowing you to manage a park and play around at the same time. Nicely presented with a variety of involved mini-games, Thrillville works as a party game and it contains a single-player mode that allows you manage park duties like keeping guests happy and coming up with new rides.

At one point in my youth I wanted to compete in Motocross events. Don’t ask me why, it was just a phase I went through. I thought “I want to ride a motorcycle and jump off of really high hills. Wow that will be fun!” A good 15 years later and I’m sitting here playing MX vs. ATV Unleashed on my Xbox, what went wrong?

Sitting on that gift card to your local favorite video game retailer? Before you buy, look into purchasing Need for Speed Carbon. This street racing game caught me by surprise as I immediately was immersed in its graphics, storyline and racing play. Though I never played any of its predecessors, this game had my adrenaline pumping from the start.

I’ve noticed recently that there are more and more first person shooters popping up all over the video game industry. With the success of games like Doom and Halo more and more game developers are jumping on the bandwagon and developing more FPS’s. Problem is, not all of them are all that good. Classified: The Sentinel Crisis falls into that category.

A tiny little purple dragon with the heart and heroism of a hobbit (literally). A smart-aleck wise cracking dragon fly with the quips of a salesman (literally). And an old, well respected red dragon to lead the way through fantasy (literally). Sierra Entertainment pulled out all the stops to get big name actors to portray the voices in this animated adventure and attempt to get Spyro on top of the gaming market for kids. With the look and feel of an animated movie, The Legend of Spyro: A New Beginning has its positives in the visual and audio aspects, but the negatives in the overall game play. Truly at a crossroad, this game plays like it is lost at which direction it wants to go.

If you know anything about me than you know I’m a HUGE racing fan. If its got wheels on it then I’ll probably watch it. So when I heard about Flat Out 2 and how realistic the racing was I couldn’t help but give it a try. Needless to say the game was far better than I expected it to be!

So I’m very much a fan of Quentin Tarantino movies such as Kill Bill, From Dusk Till Dawn and Pulp Fiction. However one of the movies I’ve heard a ton about but have never seen is Reservoir Dogs. So when I saw a video game adaptation of the movie was being released I figured it couldn’t hurt to give it a try and see if it would turn me on to seeing the movie. Well, let’s just say I hope the movie is a lot better than the video game.

Ok, I’m a fan of pro wrestling so naturally I’m generally interested in things staring former WWE superstar The Rock. So when I heard he was the main star of a new video game called Spyhunter: Nowhere To Run, I was intrigued. I figured if The Rock wanted to attach his name to it then it had to be good. Well….lets just say my assumptions were wrong.

There is a definite sense of nostalgia when looking at a Samurai Shodown game again, after about a decade has gone by since I played any in the arcades. I’m not one of the hardcore fans or anything; I couldn’t tell you how many frames a given move animation is, or what different characters are rated as in tournament effectiveness the way some people probably could. My friends and I just played now and then, either against each other, or taking turns seeing how far we could get against the computer in story mode on a single quarter. We knew the game wasn’t perfectly balanced or anything, and some characters seemed downright cheap, but it wasn’t a big deal.

Although I do like playing soccer video games, I will premise this review like all others on soccer, I am not up to speed as the rest of the world on the intricacies of the game. In playing EA Sports newest version of their long running soccer series, I have to admit, I think FIFA ’07 is about as far as the original X-Box engine will take it. With amazing graphics, great online play, incredible special features and a licensing commitment that would make the local penitentiary jealous, FIFA has evolved into something that only the Xbox360 can carry on.

Dirt bikes, ATVs, super bikes, ice cream trucks and the devil? What kinda game is this you ask? A very weird one to say the least. Crusty Demons places you as one of the five members of the Crusty Demons extreme motocross athletes. When the entire group is about to die after attempting an extreme stunt the devil intervenes, offers them the chance to become immortal if they give him their souls, and oh boy does it get interesting after that.

Here we are again, back for another installment of EA Sports ever-so-popular series NCAA Football '07. The game that takes you "in the game" continues to push the envelope in game play and peripheral features that will give the gamer hours upon hours of entertainment. As if the game play alone weren't enough, watch one of the many tutorials on what is new and improved in the game. If you love your football, especially your college football, this game will slake your thirst for the game.

When Fox decided to bring back the cartoon series Family Guy a few years ago many fans of the series couldn’t believe it. Now, a few short years later, the series has become a cultural phenomenon. So, what happens when something becomes a cultural phenomenon? You make a video game out of it of course!

There are certain things in this world that have always gone well together. Spaghetti and meatballs, peanut butter and jelly, Larry, Moe, and Curly, the Harlem Globetrotters and the New York Nationals (formerly known as the Washington Generals); each of these duos (or trios) has a great synergy that allows them to work together, with individual pieces raising the ceiling of possibility for the others. Comic books and video games are the same way. Tons of kids follow the adventures of their favorite heroes, wishing they had super powers to fight evil. Video games give us these powers and allow us to save the day in any number of exciting personalities. Meanwhile, the episodic nature of comics matches perfectly with video games – as we now have interesting, well developed, piecemeal stories that match up with the levels and arenas that we constantly battle through. This promising foundation is one of the things that Marvel: Ultimate Alliance (MUA) understands and uses well.

Gangs of Miami beware! Tony Montana is back and boy is he pissed.

Scarface the game kicks off as an alternate ending to Scarface the movie. You, as Tony Montana, have to rebuild your empire from scratch. You do this by re-establishing your self through increasing your reputation in Miami and by reconnecting with your contacts on the street. Not an easy task by any means. The local gangs have taken over and own the streets, so not only will you have to take them out, but do so without attracting the attention of the police.

Some of you might remember that last year I reviewed the newest NASCAR racing game for the Xbox Console, NASCAR 2006: Total Team Control. At that time I stated that the series continued to grow by leaps and bounds. Well, I had hoped for the same advances in the newest version of the game, NASCAR 2007, but I’m afraid those hopes have gotten unanswered with the exception of a few minor changes.

Sequels are tricky. You have to walk a fine line between creating new and exciting stories and gameplay and remaining faithful to the original material. If you lack enough new material people will complain that it’s identical to the original and there’s no reason to buy it. Stray too far from the original and you’ll alienate the fan base that demanded the sequel in the first place. If you manage to find the right balance you’ll have a great sequel, but if not you’ll end up with a game that doesn’t really satisfy anyone.

Serious Sam Gold is a combination set of Serious Sam, and its sequel, Serious Sam: The Second Encounter. I enjoyed revisiting the original Serious Sam for this review, and the sequel, well, we will get to that in a bit. Let's talk about the original game to start off.

I have to admit, I’ve had it pretty easy in my life. People are generally nice to me, I’ve never been in trouble with the authorities, and things have just been fairly good for me. I do understand that life isn’t this easy for everyone. Some people have had it hard, and have found themselves persecuted at every turn by their neighbors and those in power. But now I have developed a deeper appreciation for their struggle. I now understand the plight of the Zombie-American.

In the world of first person shooters there are several games that are stand outs. Halo, for example, is a standout game in this particular genre of video gaming. Painkiller: Hell Wars on the other hand falls somewhere in between great and not so great. It’s got all the tools to be an outstanding game but something just seems to be missing.

The name of the game Stubbs the Zombie in Rebel Without a Pulse gives away all the information one would need in deciding what this videogame is all about and how it will play out. “Stubbs the Zombie” is the main character, which means you play as the zombie himself. By using the word “in,” this should cue the gamer that it will play out like a movie. “Rebel Without a Pulse,” well this can only mean that our dead character will be running around a city at about the time James Dean was driving around on motorcycles. If you’re into 1950-based zombie movies, this game should leave your fingertips tingling, otherwise the novelty just might wear off a bit.

I have a new addiction. It is called Burnout Revenge. Smashing through rush hour traffic, slamming opponents, and zipping through shortcut alleys while dodging obstacles at maximum possible speed, I found myself rewarded time and time again for my mediocre driving skills. To increase my lowly moniker of “Harmless” and gain the prestigious title of “Unsafe”, I merely learned how to push the gas pedal.

In the world of first person shooters there are a lot of games that try to be innovative but often fail miserably. Then there are games like Urban Chaos: Riot Response that, without being blockbusters, add something different to the genre and make it fun again. That’s what I discovered once I sat down to play Urban Chaos: Riot Response.