https://www.tendocity.net/ Fri, 15 May 2026 02:43:11 +0000 MyBB https://www.tendocity.net/showthread.php?tid=3358 Wed, 23 Nov 2005 18:33:26 +0000 Paco]]> https://www.tendocity.net/showthread.php?tid=3358 Developer: Oddworld Inhabitants
Release Date: 11-15-01
Score: 8

Oddworld: Munch's Oddysee is the third game in the Oddworld series but only the second part of the quintology. The first of the series premiered in 1997 on the Playstation with the rather unusual character Abe, a gangly reptile-like janitor trying to save his enslaved race from being made into a new taste sensation by the Glukkon overlords of their planet. The 2D Abe's Oddysee featured controls that let the player communicate commands with the press of a button and even take mind control of enemies, also offering a healthy dose of platform jumping. The game garnered critical acclaim and managed to gather a cult-like following. Abe's Exoddus released only a year later and was met with similar success.

Now you take control of Munch, the last of the Gabbit race thanks to the Glukkon's love of Gabbit caviar. It is Munch's objective to hunt down the last can of Gabbit caviar that will go on auction at an upcoming Glukkon event. Abe makes a return to help Munch and free more of his own race, the Muddokons.

Gameplay: 8
The first thing you'll notice is that this game is in 3D and keeps the same feel of the orginal. That is, you must make your way through guarded and treacherous grounds, ducking in and out of shadows to avoid being noticed, and solve puzzles while safely leading your people (or whatever) out of Glukkon lands and factories.

Abe returns with his ability to speak and communicate such commands as "Follow me," "Wait here," and "Attack" to his fellow Muddokons. He also has the ability to take mind control of enemies that allows him to walk about other foes, pull levers he otherwise wouldn't have access to, or make them explode.

Munch, like all Gabbits, is a small-bodied, big-headed creature with a single flipper to propel through the water or hop on land. Munch is not as graceful or as fast on land as he is in the water, but able enough. There are times when Munch has access to a wheelchair to move quickly when he needs to. In addition to simply moving about, Munch also has the ability to talk and will lend his help to gather and save the fuzzles (little round furry creatures with big teeth).

You'll often be alternating between the two characters in order to complete a level. You'll use Abe to handle most of the platform jumping, and use Munch in the water. Also know that the Muddokons will only listen to Abe and the fuzzles will only listen to Munch. The fruits you collect in the game serve the purposes of allowing you to resurrect fallen Muddokons allowing for trial and error as you figure out a level. (The fruits are also used to upgrade warriors and open chutes)

The move to 3D has been well met with precise analog control so you can slowly and quietly creep in the shadows or make a run for it. The button map is simple and the controls are responsive. You may, however, find yourself contending with Abe's quick jumping making you miss simple platforms such as boxes.

The puzzles range from exceedingly simple walkthroughs to others that may require a bit of thought and planning. Some of them are actually quite clever leaving you with a sense of satisfaction as you walk through to the next level, and some of them are unique and humorous.

There are, however, some drawbacks to the game. What you'll notice as you progress is a sense that you've played through a similar level before, and as you reach the end of the game you'll have done the same puzzle several times just with a different setting. It's also not always clear where you should go or what needs to be done in order to proceed. If you walk around enough, and through some trial and error, you'll eventually figure it out, but the process can be a bit daunting.

The game is fun, carrying on the same gameplay that made the originals unique and great. It's just too bad that the game's objectives can be unclear, or entirely obscure, and it feels a bit recycled at times. The jumping could have been tightened up as well.

Graphics: 8
The series has made the move to 3D in great fashion, sporting sprawling industrialized landscapes, detailed and imaginative enemies, and beautiful cg sequences. I know this review is over four years late, but I can tell you at the time that the lighting and water effects were superb. The game can look rather drab at times plus you're either in the hills or in a factory. A little variety wouldn't have hurt.

Sound: 9
The soundtrack is good even though, like the levels, can be repetitive.

Lasting Appeal: 8
There is plenty of game here, but you might become bored with it as the puzzle objectives begin to repeat themselves as well as the scenery.

Presentation: 10
The story is told through beautiful and often humorous cg shorts well placed throughout the game.

Final Score: 8
Munch is a great game of cleverness, humor, and imagination held back by several notable flaws. Oddworld fans will likely love it.]]> Developer: Oddworld Inhabitants
Release Date: 11-15-01
Score: 8

Oddworld: Munch's Oddysee is the third game in the Oddworld series but only the second part of the quintology. The first of the series premiered in 1997 on the Playstation with the rather unusual character Abe, a gangly reptile-like janitor trying to save his enslaved race from being made into a new taste sensation by the Glukkon overlords of their planet. The 2D Abe's Oddysee featured controls that let the player communicate commands with the press of a button and even take mind control of enemies, also offering a healthy dose of platform jumping. The game garnered critical acclaim and managed to gather a cult-like following. Abe's Exoddus released only a year later and was met with similar success.

Now you take control of Munch, the last of the Gabbit race thanks to the Glukkon's love of Gabbit caviar. It is Munch's objective to hunt down the last can of Gabbit caviar that will go on auction at an upcoming Glukkon event. Abe makes a return to help Munch and free more of his own race, the Muddokons.

Gameplay: 8
The first thing you'll notice is that this game is in 3D and keeps the same feel of the orginal. That is, you must make your way through guarded and treacherous grounds, ducking in and out of shadows to avoid being noticed, and solve puzzles while safely leading your people (or whatever) out of Glukkon lands and factories.

Abe returns with his ability to speak and communicate such commands as "Follow me," "Wait here," and "Attack" to his fellow Muddokons. He also has the ability to take mind control of enemies that allows him to walk about other foes, pull levers he otherwise wouldn't have access to, or make them explode.

Munch, like all Gabbits, is a small-bodied, big-headed creature with a single flipper to propel through the water or hop on land. Munch is not as graceful or as fast on land as he is in the water, but able enough. There are times when Munch has access to a wheelchair to move quickly when he needs to. In addition to simply moving about, Munch also has the ability to talk and will lend his help to gather and save the fuzzles (little round furry creatures with big teeth).

You'll often be alternating between the two characters in order to complete a level. You'll use Abe to handle most of the platform jumping, and use Munch in the water. Also know that the Muddokons will only listen to Abe and the fuzzles will only listen to Munch. The fruits you collect in the game serve the purposes of allowing you to resurrect fallen Muddokons allowing for trial and error as you figure out a level. (The fruits are also used to upgrade warriors and open chutes)

The move to 3D has been well met with precise analog control so you can slowly and quietly creep in the shadows or make a run for it. The button map is simple and the controls are responsive. You may, however, find yourself contending with Abe's quick jumping making you miss simple platforms such as boxes.

The puzzles range from exceedingly simple walkthroughs to others that may require a bit of thought and planning. Some of them are actually quite clever leaving you with a sense of satisfaction as you walk through to the next level, and some of them are unique and humorous.

There are, however, some drawbacks to the game. What you'll notice as you progress is a sense that you've played through a similar level before, and as you reach the end of the game you'll have done the same puzzle several times just with a different setting. It's also not always clear where you should go or what needs to be done in order to proceed. If you walk around enough, and through some trial and error, you'll eventually figure it out, but the process can be a bit daunting.

The game is fun, carrying on the same gameplay that made the originals unique and great. It's just too bad that the game's objectives can be unclear, or entirely obscure, and it feels a bit recycled at times. The jumping could have been tightened up as well.

Graphics: 8
The series has made the move to 3D in great fashion, sporting sprawling industrialized landscapes, detailed and imaginative enemies, and beautiful cg sequences. I know this review is over four years late, but I can tell you at the time that the lighting and water effects were superb. The game can look rather drab at times plus you're either in the hills or in a factory. A little variety wouldn't have hurt.

Sound: 9
The soundtrack is good even though, like the levels, can be repetitive.

Lasting Appeal: 8
There is plenty of game here, but you might become bored with it as the puzzle objectives begin to repeat themselves as well as the scenery.

Presentation: 10
The story is told through beautiful and often humorous cg shorts well placed throughout the game.

Final Score: 8
Munch is a great game of cleverness, humor, and imagination held back by several notable flaws. Oddworld fans will likely love it.]]> https://www.tendocity.net/showthread.php?tid=3354 Sun, 20 Nov 2005 21:16:16 +0000 Paco]]> https://www.tendocity.net/showthread.php?tid=3354 Release Date: 04-2002

Jet Set Radio Future is the sequel to the Dreamcast game Jet Grind Radio, a game that introduced the graphic technique known as cel-shading while being coupled with an innovative approach to skating around and tagging city landscapes. Like many of Sega’s games at the time, Jet Grind Radio was critically acclaimed but met with only a lukewarm reception. Some might say that the steep learning curve and involved controls are to blame for the niche status the game managed, and I’d say they are right. It was hardly instantly accessible and it only got more challenging as the player progressed. That’s not to say the game wasn’t fun, because it was. It just didn’t have the likeability of a pick up and play type for the masses to enjoy. Never the less it seems that it did well enough to warrant a sequel, or maybe Smilebit just wanted a second chance, and here we are with JSRF.

Gameplay: 6
Like its predecessor, JSRF puts the player in control of a skater whose objective is to basically cause trouble. You begin the game in a central hub area where other skaters hangout, and here you are given the option of character choice, music, game management (saves), customizable graffiti, various types of surfaces to practice grinding on, and access to the surrounding city as you progress. Your missions will be given to you by the returning DJ Professor K who broadcasts over his pirate radio station, Jet Set Radio (now you know where the game title comes from in case you were wondering). The objectives vary from simply tagging specific locations in the city to taking out rival gangs. Now if you’ve played the original then this all sounds very familiar to you, and if you haven’t now you’re on the up and up. Let’s get to what’s new or different about it…

The first thing Jet Set Radio veterans will notice, besides the improved graphics, is that the controls have changed. It seems as though Smilebit wanted to make the game as easy to get in to as possible and in doing that they have succeeded, but they may have made it too simple in the process. If you played the original then you’ll remember that in order to tag an area first you had to collect spray paint cans then you had to go to a location marked by an arrow and begin to paint. To paint you had to pull off a series of analog maneuvers in order to complete the tag and rack up points. Small tags would take one or two strokes and the bigger wall sized tags would take several inputs or passes. All the while you had a squad of police on your tail and a time limit to contend with. Grinding took constant inputs of tricks to speed up which meant the player was always doing something. This made the game challenging but never impossible, and always engaging.

The maneuvers and time limit are gone, and the police, or Rokkaku, are not as much a threat. Tagging is as simple as grinding or skating pass an area and holding down the R trigger. Grinding is simple and doesn’t take nearly as much input to get going at a great speed, certainly enough to outrun the police or rivals with little difficulty. The Rokkaku are as aggressive as they were in the original but now they are easier to defeat, and with the larger environments and simplified grinding they are hardly a nuisance. Without the time limit there is no pressure to complete the objective. To sum it up, the challenges are gone. You skate, you tag without much to stand in your way; the mechanics are just too simple making for a largely forgettable experience.

I won’t say the game is a complete loss, because there is some fun to be had. The environments are enormous and it seems like you can grind on everything. It can be quite satisfying to grind around an entire level at a fast pace, finding shortcuts and outrunning rivals. The missions have enough variety to keep from being repetitive and there are dozens of them. There are even some moments that truly test your grinding capabilities to reach what look like impossible areas to get to. It’s just too bad these objectives are few and far between and don’t make up the missions necessary to complete the game.

It’s really too bad that Smilebit couldn’t find a better balance of gameplay to please veterans like myself while giving the game just a little more accessibility than the original. There’s a nice middle ground somewhere.

Graphics: 9
The first thing you’ll notice is that the people who brought you cel-shading still own it. The game is a spectacle and truly shines at times. The cityscapes are large and impressive, filled with buildings, billboards, stair ways, construction sites, bus stations, power lines, rails, and filled with pedestrians. The only disappointment is that the game has slow down at times, and the game can slow to a crawl. Fortunately these moments are few and far between.

Sound: 8
The original Jet Grind Radio soundtrack is an example of the perfect blend of music, style, and gameplay. Every track, though different from each other, fit the game perfectly. This is not true for the sequel. The soundtrack fits JSRF, but it’s not as perfect a blend as the original. There are some memorable tracks but it’s not as great as I expected in a sequel.

Lasting Appeal: 8
The game will take you around 15 hours to complete the core, and then for those interested there are hours and hours left in the game of extras. You can make your own graffiti and then go out on the town and spray it all over the place to your hearts content. I managed to make several nice tags and can honestly say I was pleased to bomb (a term for tagging) the hell out of the city. In addition to that there are some serious challenges for the dedicated few who want to get everything in the game. I’m talking specifically about grinding and reaching areas that take precise timing and skill, as well as races that will test you. There is also the VS mode that diehard fans will enjoy. Bottom line is if you like the game then there is plenty to do.

The problem is you may become bored as the game offers hardly anything new as you progress through the stages.

Conclusion
I was one of the few people who thoroughly enjoyed the original Jet Grind Radio for everything it is. I’m serious when I say that I would have scored it a perfect 10 across the board back then. The learning curve may have been a bit daunting at first but it ended up being entirely rewarding after a little time with it. I can say that I experienced adrenaline spikes when the police were cornering me, the clock was counting down in the teens, and it took me until the last moment to finally pull off the right maneuver of the analog stick then on to the next mission where I could expect a similar intensity. It’s unfortunate that great games like Jet Grind Radio get overlooked or dismissed, and even more unfortunate when the developer compromises almost everything that made the original great in hopes of more sales.

Hardcore fans will play and like it just because it’s more Jet Grind Radio, and there is some fun to be had even if it’s not as challenging or engaging as the original. New comers might enjoy the game for all that it is but I feel it will turn out too simple to hold their interest.

Final Score: 7
]]> Release Date: 04-2002

Jet Set Radio Future is the sequel to the Dreamcast game Jet Grind Radio, a game that introduced the graphic technique known as cel-shading while being coupled with an innovative approach to skating around and tagging city landscapes. Like many of Sega’s games at the time, Jet Grind Radio was critically acclaimed but met with only a lukewarm reception. Some might say that the steep learning curve and involved controls are to blame for the niche status the game managed, and I’d say they are right. It was hardly instantly accessible and it only got more challenging as the player progressed. That’s not to say the game wasn’t fun, because it was. It just didn’t have the likeability of a pick up and play type for the masses to enjoy. Never the less it seems that it did well enough to warrant a sequel, or maybe Smilebit just wanted a second chance, and here we are with JSRF.

Gameplay: 6
Like its predecessor, JSRF puts the player in control of a skater whose objective is to basically cause trouble. You begin the game in a central hub area where other skaters hangout, and here you are given the option of character choice, music, game management (saves), customizable graffiti, various types of surfaces to practice grinding on, and access to the surrounding city as you progress. Your missions will be given to you by the returning DJ Professor K who broadcasts over his pirate radio station, Jet Set Radio (now you know where the game title comes from in case you were wondering). The objectives vary from simply tagging specific locations in the city to taking out rival gangs. Now if you’ve played the original then this all sounds very familiar to you, and if you haven’t now you’re on the up and up. Let’s get to what’s new or different about it…

The first thing Jet Set Radio veterans will notice, besides the improved graphics, is that the controls have changed. It seems as though Smilebit wanted to make the game as easy to get in to as possible and in doing that they have succeeded, but they may have made it too simple in the process. If you played the original then you’ll remember that in order to tag an area first you had to collect spray paint cans then you had to go to a location marked by an arrow and begin to paint. To paint you had to pull off a series of analog maneuvers in order to complete the tag and rack up points. Small tags would take one or two strokes and the bigger wall sized tags would take several inputs or passes. All the while you had a squad of police on your tail and a time limit to contend with. Grinding took constant inputs of tricks to speed up which meant the player was always doing something. This made the game challenging but never impossible, and always engaging.

The maneuvers and time limit are gone, and the police, or Rokkaku, are not as much a threat. Tagging is as simple as grinding or skating pass an area and holding down the R trigger. Grinding is simple and doesn’t take nearly as much input to get going at a great speed, certainly enough to outrun the police or rivals with little difficulty. The Rokkaku are as aggressive as they were in the original but now they are easier to defeat, and with the larger environments and simplified grinding they are hardly a nuisance. Without the time limit there is no pressure to complete the objective. To sum it up, the challenges are gone. You skate, you tag without much to stand in your way; the mechanics are just too simple making for a largely forgettable experience.

I won’t say the game is a complete loss, because there is some fun to be had. The environments are enormous and it seems like you can grind on everything. It can be quite satisfying to grind around an entire level at a fast pace, finding shortcuts and outrunning rivals. The missions have enough variety to keep from being repetitive and there are dozens of them. There are even some moments that truly test your grinding capabilities to reach what look like impossible areas to get to. It’s just too bad these objectives are few and far between and don’t make up the missions necessary to complete the game.

It’s really too bad that Smilebit couldn’t find a better balance of gameplay to please veterans like myself while giving the game just a little more accessibility than the original. There’s a nice middle ground somewhere.

Graphics: 9
The first thing you’ll notice is that the people who brought you cel-shading still own it. The game is a spectacle and truly shines at times. The cityscapes are large and impressive, filled with buildings, billboards, stair ways, construction sites, bus stations, power lines, rails, and filled with pedestrians. The only disappointment is that the game has slow down at times, and the game can slow to a crawl. Fortunately these moments are few and far between.

Sound: 8
The original Jet Grind Radio soundtrack is an example of the perfect blend of music, style, and gameplay. Every track, though different from each other, fit the game perfectly. This is not true for the sequel. The soundtrack fits JSRF, but it’s not as perfect a blend as the original. There are some memorable tracks but it’s not as great as I expected in a sequel.

Lasting Appeal: 8
The game will take you around 15 hours to complete the core, and then for those interested there are hours and hours left in the game of extras. You can make your own graffiti and then go out on the town and spray it all over the place to your hearts content. I managed to make several nice tags and can honestly say I was pleased to bomb (a term for tagging) the hell out of the city. In addition to that there are some serious challenges for the dedicated few who want to get everything in the game. I’m talking specifically about grinding and reaching areas that take precise timing and skill, as well as races that will test you. There is also the VS mode that diehard fans will enjoy. Bottom line is if you like the game then there is plenty to do.

The problem is you may become bored as the game offers hardly anything new as you progress through the stages.

Conclusion
I was one of the few people who thoroughly enjoyed the original Jet Grind Radio for everything it is. I’m serious when I say that I would have scored it a perfect 10 across the board back then. The learning curve may have been a bit daunting at first but it ended up being entirely rewarding after a little time with it. I can say that I experienced adrenaline spikes when the police were cornering me, the clock was counting down in the teens, and it took me until the last moment to finally pull off the right maneuver of the analog stick then on to the next mission where I could expect a similar intensity. It’s unfortunate that great games like Jet Grind Radio get overlooked or dismissed, and even more unfortunate when the developer compromises almost everything that made the original great in hopes of more sales.

Hardcore fans will play and like it just because it’s more Jet Grind Radio, and there is some fun to be had even if it’s not as challenging or engaging as the original. New comers might enjoy the game for all that it is but I feel it will turn out too simple to hold their interest.

Final Score: 7
]]> https://www.tendocity.net/showthread.php?tid=2942 Mon, 23 May 2005 03:29:18 +0000 Great Rumbler]]> https://www.tendocity.net/showthread.php?tid=2942
Graphics:
The very first thing you notice about Halo is the graphics. Though the game is now several years old, the graphics are still suprisingly good even standing beside some of the newer PC games. Up close the textures are very high-res and detailed, though the begin to get blurred at even a short distance. The poly count for the characters and enemies is fairly high and mainy of the lighting effects [especially light filtering through the branches of trees] looks great. Metalic surfaces have an extra coat of glossy finish, which is made clearer when using your flashlight. All things considered, it looks great. The one downside to the graphics is that the art style is just too drab, it has little life too it and many areas are repeated for too many times.

Story:
The storyling is somewhat standard sci-fi fare. It involves a race of aliens known as the Covenant who are bent on destroying the Earth empire. It's up to you as Master Chief, intergalatic tough-guy, to make sure that doesn't happen. Unfortunately, you're strandedd on a ring-world called Halo, but no to worry, the Convenant are also there too, so there's plenty of alien-killing to be done. Things do begin to get a bit more complex in the later half of the game, but don't expect anything along the lines of 2001. It's a pretty much straight-forward and simple storyline, but it does what it needs to and it's not a downside.

Controls:
The left analog stick controls movement and the right controls your aim. The best set-up you can hope for without a keyboard and mouse. It works well though, and is simple enough to use.

Sound:
The machine guns of the future sound a lot like you might expect them too and explosions sound the same no matter what year you're in. It also has some decent voice work, which can do wonders for any game. Also, the music [from what I can remember] works well for the game, but didn't seem TOO memorable. That having been said, the game does sound pretty good.

Gameplay:
Unfortunately, the game struggles in this sector. You'd think a game where you play as the coolest warrior in the universe fighting hordes of alien scum could never get boring even in a million years, but you'd be wrong. By the time you've fought the same three types of aliens, in the same grey corridor for the hundredth time it becomes a chore to pick up the controller again. About half the game is boring, while the other half is actually rather fun. If you can overcome the monotony that plagues the boring half, or can find someone to co-op with you, you should be able to beat the game in about 10-15 hours. It's worth it to finally see the end, but getting their isn't easy and not for the right reasons. The multiplayer deathmatch, I've been told, is incredibly fun and makes up for some of the moring boring parts of the singleplayer, but I haven't played much of it myself.

Conclusion:
Despite it's amazing graphics and tight controls, Halo suffers from drab art style and gameplay that repeats itself too many times. It's a fun game, and one of the better console FPSs, but there are better games out there. If you're a scifi junkie and don't have a computer, you'll likely want to give it a go. If you're not a big fan of FPSs and find repetition to be a major turn off, you may want to consider a different game.

7.5/10]]>
Graphics:
The very first thing you notice about Halo is the graphics. Though the game is now several years old, the graphics are still suprisingly good even standing beside some of the newer PC games. Up close the textures are very high-res and detailed, though the begin to get blurred at even a short distance. The poly count for the characters and enemies is fairly high and mainy of the lighting effects [especially light filtering through the branches of trees] looks great. Metalic surfaces have an extra coat of glossy finish, which is made clearer when using your flashlight. All things considered, it looks great. The one downside to the graphics is that the art style is just too drab, it has little life too it and many areas are repeated for too many times.

Story:
The storyling is somewhat standard sci-fi fare. It involves a race of aliens known as the Covenant who are bent on destroying the Earth empire. It's up to you as Master Chief, intergalatic tough-guy, to make sure that doesn't happen. Unfortunately, you're strandedd on a ring-world called Halo, but no to worry, the Convenant are also there too, so there's plenty of alien-killing to be done. Things do begin to get a bit more complex in the later half of the game, but don't expect anything along the lines of 2001. It's a pretty much straight-forward and simple storyline, but it does what it needs to and it's not a downside.

Controls:
The left analog stick controls movement and the right controls your aim. The best set-up you can hope for without a keyboard and mouse. It works well though, and is simple enough to use.

Sound:
The machine guns of the future sound a lot like you might expect them too and explosions sound the same no matter what year you're in. It also has some decent voice work, which can do wonders for any game. Also, the music [from what I can remember] works well for the game, but didn't seem TOO memorable. That having been said, the game does sound pretty good.

Gameplay:
Unfortunately, the game struggles in this sector. You'd think a game where you play as the coolest warrior in the universe fighting hordes of alien scum could never get boring even in a million years, but you'd be wrong. By the time you've fought the same three types of aliens, in the same grey corridor for the hundredth time it becomes a chore to pick up the controller again. About half the game is boring, while the other half is actually rather fun. If you can overcome the monotony that plagues the boring half, or can find someone to co-op with you, you should be able to beat the game in about 10-15 hours. It's worth it to finally see the end, but getting their isn't easy and not for the right reasons. The multiplayer deathmatch, I've been told, is incredibly fun and makes up for some of the moring boring parts of the singleplayer, but I haven't played much of it myself.

Conclusion:
Despite it's amazing graphics and tight controls, Halo suffers from drab art style and gameplay that repeats itself too many times. It's a fun game, and one of the better console FPSs, but there are better games out there. If you're a scifi junkie and don't have a computer, you'll likely want to give it a go. If you're not a big fan of FPSs and find repetition to be a major turn off, you may want to consider a different game.

7.5/10]]>