22nd May 2003, 11:03 AM
Ok I finally got the demo disc last night so here are my impressions!
Billy Hatcher and the Giant Egg: Stupid name, fun game! Basically what you do is push these eggs around, feeding them by killing enemies and eating the fruit they leave behind (don't ask). You can then hatch the egg and get a little animal buddy to walk by your side and use special attacks and stuff. Or you can just roll around with the egg for a while. The controls are good, the graphics are nice, the camera is fine, and the music is right for the game. The demo is very short so I'll have to wait and see how the long the game is and what kind of reviews it gets before deciding whether or not I'm gonna buy the game.
Viewtiful Joe: You know, when I first saw this game I thought it looked pretty neat, but I never considered buying it. Then I read ign's impressions and thought "hey that sounds cool but I still don't know if I want to plop down $50 for it". Well now that I've played the demo I can tell you that I am definitely going to be getting this game as soon as it comes out. The movies don't do this game justice. It's just so fun, insane, and cool at the same time. The bullet-time and mach speed modes are just so damn cool, and this game really does do bullet-time much better than Max Payne, Dead to Rights, or Enter the Matrix do. I'm serious. The demo lasts for a while so if you're itching to play this game, head on over to Best Buy and pick it up! I'm really looking forward to this one.
Sonic DX: This is so sad. I can't believe Sega is actually going to try and sell this for $40. It's worse than the DC version which came out in 1999! Some things look a lot better than the DC version (such as water), but this game suffers from a jumpy framerate. The DC version didn't have slowdown like this. If you want this game badly, go out and find a used Dreamcast and I'll send you a copy of the game.
Soul Calibur 2: Just like SC1, only prettier! If you liked the first one (and who didn't?) you'll like the sequel. It looks and plays very similar to the first game, only more polished and more visually pleasing. VF4 is still the king of 3D fighters. Unfortunately Link is not playable in the demo, and there's no two-player mode (in the demo, of course).
Splinter Cell: Only played this one for a few minutes, but it looks good. Definitely not as good as the X-Box and PC versions, but if you don't have an X-Box or a good enough PC, get this version.
GBA demos:
Wario Ware: Words cannot describe how crazy this game is. But thankfully it's a crapload of fun, so if Best Buy or whoever sells this game for under $25 I'll buy it.
Dr. Mario: Exact same as the NES version. Hopefully Nintendo will release a GBA puzzle collection some day.
Billy Hatcher and the Giant Egg: Stupid name, fun game! Basically what you do is push these eggs around, feeding them by killing enemies and eating the fruit they leave behind (don't ask). You can then hatch the egg and get a little animal buddy to walk by your side and use special attacks and stuff. Or you can just roll around with the egg for a while. The controls are good, the graphics are nice, the camera is fine, and the music is right for the game. The demo is very short so I'll have to wait and see how the long the game is and what kind of reviews it gets before deciding whether or not I'm gonna buy the game.
Viewtiful Joe: You know, when I first saw this game I thought it looked pretty neat, but I never considered buying it. Then I read ign's impressions and thought "hey that sounds cool but I still don't know if I want to plop down $50 for it". Well now that I've played the demo I can tell you that I am definitely going to be getting this game as soon as it comes out. The movies don't do this game justice. It's just so fun, insane, and cool at the same time. The bullet-time and mach speed modes are just so damn cool, and this game really does do bullet-time much better than Max Payne, Dead to Rights, or Enter the Matrix do. I'm serious. The demo lasts for a while so if you're itching to play this game, head on over to Best Buy and pick it up! I'm really looking forward to this one.
Sonic DX: This is so sad. I can't believe Sega is actually going to try and sell this for $40. It's worse than the DC version which came out in 1999! Some things look a lot better than the DC version (such as water), but this game suffers from a jumpy framerate. The DC version didn't have slowdown like this. If you want this game badly, go out and find a used Dreamcast and I'll send you a copy of the game.
Soul Calibur 2: Just like SC1, only prettier! If you liked the first one (and who didn't?) you'll like the sequel. It looks and plays very similar to the first game, only more polished and more visually pleasing. VF4 is still the king of 3D fighters. Unfortunately Link is not playable in the demo, and there's no two-player mode (in the demo, of course).
Splinter Cell: Only played this one for a few minutes, but it looks good. Definitely not as good as the X-Box and PC versions, but if you don't have an X-Box or a good enough PC, get this version.
GBA demos:
Wario Ware: Words cannot describe how crazy this game is. But thankfully it's a crapload of fun, so if Best Buy or whoever sells this game for under $25 I'll buy it.
Dr. Mario: Exact same as the NES version. Hopefully Nintendo will release a GBA puzzle collection some day.