Tendo City - PlayStation 2 Reviews

Shadow of the Colossus

Mon, 08 Jan 2007 04:05:08 +0000

In our day to day lives there are sometimes moments that are truly awe-inspiring. Instances and events that take your breath away, give you chills, or leave you gapping in sheer amazement. Art imitating life, we can experience similar feelings when gazing upon a painting, getting caught up in a novel, or viewing a film. You wouldn’t be surprised to hear anyone explain an emotional reaction as a result from the aforementioned media because it’s become commonplace. One might looked surprised, however, if you were to tell them that a video game moved you in similar manner.
As technology furthers, story telling in video games is given the ability to become more cinematic. Characters are animated with lifelike gestures thus making them more believable than ever; game worlds are given convincing environments; and the interaction is able to be deeper than ever before. Given the convincing facet, game developers create worlds that convey emotion and thus we relate and are more easily drawn in to whatever it is we are playing in. There aren’t many examples of games that do this well, perhaps a handful, and even less that manage consistency in doing so. Shadow of the Colossus, however, does just that, emotionally works you over from start to finish. More impressive is that the game provides a fun, unique, challenging, and unforgettable experience for the duration of the journey.

Story - 10
The game begins with an opening sequence of you traveling by horse across a land and bridge to eventually arrive at a towering structure set in a closed-in landscape. You travel down a spiraling corridor and arrive in a great hall lined by stone statues on either side, and at the end is a pedestal. As you set down a deceased girl on the pedestal, a voice comes from above to inform you that you are in a cursed and forbidden land for any creature, however the land holds great power- like that to restore life to the dead. This same voice then gives you instruction that your task is to defeat 16 colossi, represented by the idol statues in the main hall. The voice tells you that by completing this task you may be able to restore life to your deceased companion. With a special sword in hand, the only instrument to bring down the colossi, you are set off to find the first. Not wanting to spoil anything, I won’t reveal any further details. I will say that the story unravels at a perfect pace to a spectacular ending.

Game play - 9
Set off on your first task, you’ll notice that you’re equipped with a sword, bow & arrows, and a horse. This is all you have to take on the enormous uncharted land and the colossi that dwell within. It’s a bit daunting to set off with such a small inventory, but it’s all you’ll ever need as the game will have you rely on your perception of the design of the colossi themselves as well as their environment in order to proceed through the game.

To trek your way across the forbidden land is your horse, Agro. Besides being beautifully made and animated, he handles well to boot. He is your only companion through out the adventure and is essential to some of the battles. To find your way you have the sword that you simply need hold up to the light and it acts as a compass to indicate the direction of the next colossus. You’ll rely on it often as the land is just too big to simply stumble across your next opponent. It works most of the time. There are some cases in which the light will lead you to a dead end within a canyon when what you really needed to do was go around it to reach your destination. However, this is very rare.

You’ll become familiar with the controls fairly quickly as you get to your first destination, the environment acting as a tutor getting you ready for your first battle. By the time you beat the first colossus, you’ll be well aware of the controls. It’s a simple set up, but it works, and you’ll never once feel inadequately equipped to handle any challenge. If there is any gripe to make, it’s the camera; you’ll be fighting with it most of the time. However, the game is never unplayable.

It’s hard to further emphasize the game play elements without spoiling any particular colossus battle. I’ll mention though that the task at hand never becomes mundane as each colossus feels different than the last. You’ll have so much fun figuring out how to take them down, and then you’ll feel such a sense of accomplishment in doing so, you’re likely to rush right on to the next.

Graphics - 9
Shadow of the Colossus is not the most technically impressive game on any console. The textures are not the sharpest I’ve seen, the load on demand system seems to fall behind at times as you can see the geometry filling in as you approach, and there’s even a few occasions of clipping. The framerate is not solid either, dipping to almost unplayable in a few rare instances. What it lacks in technical prowess it more than makes up for with artistic brilliance that very, very few games come close to. The colossi are stunning to witness in their sheer size, design, and behavior as they move their hulking weight around. If you are like me, you will often find yourself simply admiring the giants with their animal like mannerisms, all fantastically animated.

The landscape is often desolate, but I believe it to be a part of the design. You’re supposed to feel alone in a forbidden and cursed land, and the often bare (but beautiful) vistas give a sense of isolation and disparity. That’s not to say the landscape is dull. The game offers a variety of land including plains, deserts, caves, lakes, ruins, canyons, forest, hills, and cliffs. You’ll often be impressed with how seamless and natural it all is. Despite its technical shortcomings, Shadow of the Colossus is one of the most beautiful games available.

Sound - 10
The audio experience was obviously paid with as much attention as the game’s beautiful presentation. The sound fx, such as Agro’s hoof beats on the various landscapes are believable. The soundtrack perfectly compliments this artistic masterpiece of a game. It seamlessly transitions between the almost desolate landscapes to the dramatic fights with the colossi.

Longevity - 8
Shadow of the Colossus is not a long game. The first time through, provided you don’t use a strategy guide, will take you around 8-10 hours. While an unforgettable experience, it seems as short as you’re thinking. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing because I enjoyed every minute I had with it; I never once felt that the game was dragging its feet, or sending me on some cheap collection quest. However, compared to most of today’s adventure games it does fall on the short side. That’s not to say that when you first finish the game that’s all there is to do. Afterwards, a few options open up. There’s time attack where you can visit any colossi and best your time, and there’s also a hard mode where a second time through the game will prove more challenging.

Presentation - 10
I have to say that Shadow of the Colossus provides a cinematic experience unlike most any game you’ve played. The story is delivered without many words, but rather in gesture, and it is powerful. The game also does the colossi service as with a great sense of scale as they tower over you. Nothing can prepare you for your first colossus. It’s overwhelming, it will likely give you chills, but it’s so exciting.

Conclusion
Every once and a while a game comes along that delivers itself in such a way that it changes the way you think about the interactive media. It not only lets you physically interact with its’ on-screen elements, but pulls you in by grabbing hold of your emotions every moment you’re with it. Shadow of the Colossus is not the first game to achieve such an effect, but it certainly is among the finest available to this day. Aside from the superb storytelling and engrossing atmosphere, it carries itself admirably well even given a few game play faults. If you’re a fan of adventure games, or if you’re just looking for a unique and gripping game experience, Shadow of the Colossus is an essential purchase.

9/10 - Excellent

Final Fantasy XII

Fri, 29 Dec 2006 05:59:29 +0000

Daunting, a word that came to mind as I thought about writing this review. I could write pages about what makes this game so good, why it’s a cut above most any other RPG you’ve played (maybe even most any kind of game), but then I figured I’d try my best to keep it short so as not to delay you from getting to the nearest video game retailer to pick up your very own copy. I’ll get to the point, but I need to pay the game service where it deserves.

Story
If you’re a fan of the series then you know to expect an epic tale of an unlikely group of heroes trying to prevent certain disaster on a grand scale. The stage is set in the world of Ivalice. The neutral kingdome of Dalmasca is under invasion by the powerful Archadian Empire. One for peace, the King of Dalmasca agrees to sign a treaty of occupation in trade of the war’s end. Dalmasca’s King is assassinated and taken over by Archadian forces. Two years past, you are introduced to Vaan, an energetic youth of Dalmasca whose brother, a Dalmascan soldier, was murdered during the assassination on the King. Feeling spiteful, Vaan decides he will take down the empire one theft at a time. He decides to break in to the palace during a banquet event for the arrival of the city’s new rule. Coincidentally, he breaks in the same time as a Dalmascan resistance force attacks the palace and a couple of sky pirates trying looting the palace as well. You acquire something the sky pirates want, so they help you escape the palace. It gets more complicated from here on it, unraveling a roller coaster of ups and downs and surprise turns aplenty, but I’ll just let you play it to find out what happens.

What makes this Final Fantasy different is that there is no single character driving the story. It’s an ensemble of characters whose story’s interweave and create a tale of love, hatred, loss, fortune, treacherous betrayal, unlikely alliances, and more. It’s elegantly crafted to keep you constantly engaged as you explore the story and world before you. Before long the game will hook you and take you ever deeper, getting you more involved in this epic of stories. This is no standard storytelling fare; it’s a prime example of what story telling should be like.
10

Gameplay
I’ll get right to it, the battle system is awesome. Yes, it’s different but not as much as you think. I’ve come to think of it as active time battle system 2.0. It’s just like the battle system in previous Final Fantasy games, save for the entirely turn-based Final Fantasy X, but it’s uninterrupted. Yes, the real major difference here is that you can see your enemies now. It was a much needed overhaul and it absolutely works. The new Gambit system lets you, in essence, have automatic reactions. One could set this up to automatically cast Haste, attack, cure any enemy induced ailments, and move on with you only moving in the direction. If you prefer to be more hands-on, and at times you have to be, you can take control quite easily by simply pressing X and choosing the actions yourself. One could turn the gambits off entirely, but I can’t imagine anyone wanting to do that.

So the battle system does everything for you, great. That is not to say the game is easy…it’s not. In fact, I would say this is among the most challenging RPGs I’ve played through. The enemies can be tough, and the bosses are even tougher. There were instances in the game when I had to level grind in order to defeat a boss, or other times when I simply wanted to go to a new area. Fortunately the new cruise control like battle system makes it easy to level up and move on, but you’ll spend a significant amount of time over the course of the game doing so.

To increase your character stats and abilities is the new license system. It’s similar to Final Fantasy X’s sphere grid in that you get to customize your characters as you see fit, but different in that you can go in any direction you want. Instead of following a path like the sphere grid, you start in a spot and build out as you acquire more licenses. You acquire license points as you defeat enemies. You will acquire thousands of license points over the duration of your journey, but it won’t likely be enough to fill up the whole board (unless you are in it for a long haul). This in turn makes you a bit more decisive on how you want to customize a certain character. However, seeing as how there is little strategy to defeating enemies, there is not an incentive to make anything other than heavy hitters.

There are some downsides. This Final Fantasy has an incredible amount of emphasis on physical strength and defense. You can hack your way through the entire game, relying little on offensive magick. Every enemy, every boss, same strategy- hit them as hard and often as you can while keeping your defense up. Sure, you’ll cast dispel on your enemies quite often, but there really isn’t much strategy to battles. You’ll need the latest weapons and armor to move through the next area, but you’re going to need to earn them. The game is very tight with money, the enemies hardly giving any at all, instead dropping loot to sell to the shops. Fortunately, you’ll accrue a significant amount of loot while you’re out necessarily level grinding. You’ll hardly ever have gil (Final Fantasy currency) to spare though.

EDIT: It was pointed out to me that I need to pay a bit more lip service to magick. I managed to hack my way through the game using a magick routine- dispel the boss's positive attributes, cast haste, protect, shell on your party, and go to work. It really felt like a rinse, wash, repeat ordeal. It works with every boss. However, it was brought to my attention that there were times when offensive magicks (those that inflict damage on the enemy) helped out even more. In other words, don't skimp on building out your magick. It can be useful to incorporate it in to your strategy. It depends on how you want to play.

Despite the nuisances, the game still works incredibly well. It’s a challenge, but one that gives a great sense of accomplishment. It’s not perfect, but it’s pretty close. If you’re a skeptic of SquareEnix’s shift in game play, I dare you to spend just a few minutes with it.

9

Graphics
Gorgeous. It pushes the Playstation 2 to new boundaries. The game is awash in beautiful colors, complex but elegant architecture, varied and vast vistas, and inhabited with bustling populations. Every area in the game is distinguishable with special touches all its own. You will likely be astounded at the amount of detail, care, and high production values that very obviously went in to this game.

10

Audio
The voice acting is superb. The sound effects are surreal, especially on a surround sound system. The soundtrack is of a European flavor, different from previous Final Fantasy games, but it’s a welcome change and very accomplished.

10

Longevity
Ivalice is huge, and there’s enough to do to keep you busy for dozens of hours past the main quest. There are several areas that are completely optional, and most will put up quite the challenge just to explore. There are optional espers (XII’s summons) to obtain, most requiring small side quests simply to gain access, never mind they certainly pose a considerable challenge themselves. There are also marks to take on, special monster hunts posted by Ivalice inhabitants, usually with nice payoffs. Then there are the rare monster hunts which have you seeking out 80 or so monsters that show up in specific parts of Ivalice with given conditions (cloudy, rainy, sunny, time sensitive, etc). There’s a lot to do, and from reports I’ve read, it’s taken many people upwards of 150 hours to complete it all. A game that offers a big bang for your buck whether you’re in it for the main quest or in it for everything.

10

Final Fantasy XII is an epic of a game that reinvents the long running series. It sets new standards in RPG story telling. The battle system and enemy-on-screen overhaul makes for a much needed new feel. It gorgeous, and sounds wonderful, and will keep you entertained for as much as you can likely stand.

9/10

Grading system:
<5-Failure; 6-Okay; 7-Good; 8-Great; 9-Excellent; 10-Perfect

Jak 3

Sun, 20 Nov 2005 17:55:52 +0000

Developer: Naughty Dog
Release Date: 10-2004

Jak & Daxter are back in Jak 3. This third installment of Naughty Dog’s popular series marks the end of a game trilogy, finally revealing the Precursors and unmasking the mysterious Mar. Those who have followed the series can expect a game that plays in similar fashion to its predecessor, Jak II, which traded the platform jumping of the original for guns and vehicles in an action based romp. While the platform play has taken a back seat, even more so than the second game, the noteworthy accessibility and entertainment of the series remains intact for one of the finest games available for your Playstation 2 or any other console.

To catch you up on the story: Jak is thrown out of Haven City along with his cohorts, Daxter and Pecker, by a man named Veger who blames Jak for the ongoing war with the Metal Heads and for destroying part of the city. Exiled to the desert wastelands, Ashelin, the Baron’s daughter who befriended Jak in the second game, gives Jak a tracking device which allows Damas, ruler of the wasteland city Spargus, to find the dying company. In Spargus, Jak is given the chance to prove himself before he can go back to fighting metal heads.

Gameplay: 9
Spargus is not unlike Haven City in terms of layout or design, but it is different with respect to the challenges Jak must face and this is where Jak 3 sets itself apart in the series. The very first task places Jak in an arena where he must prove himself in front of Damas and the people of Spargus in a shoot’em up obstacle course not unlike one you’d find in a Ratchet & Clank game. Upon completion, you are then released to roam about the desert city where you’ll find the new leaper lizard to get around Spargus faster and compete in races and various challenges. When you are ready to leave you’ll find yourself in a vast and harsh desert landscape where Jak will be given access to dune buggies in order to complete missions handed out by Damas.

The buggies control quite well even though they may seem a bit too bouncy (you’ll be rolling your buggy often which can be a little frustrating). Fortunately, they upright themselves and can take quite a bit of damage. Traversing the hills, canyons, and caves you’ll come across enemy wastelanders and enormous metal heads all while finding precursor statues challenging your buggy driving skills. As you complete metal head raids, destroy onslaughts of enemies, win races, and collect the artifacts you’ll be rewarded with access to different types of dune-buggies. The buggies vary in speed, ability (one can hop, giving you passage on chains of islands), and the amount of damage you can take. You’ll spend a good amount of your time here, especially if you want to find all the artifacts, and the good news is that it’s entirely fun.

Jak himself controls as well as ever. The notable additions, coming from Jak II to Jak 3, is that the four guns you carry are upgradeable and now you have light powers as well as dark. You’ll spend far more time using your guns as most of the game is made up of shoot’em up sections and missions. The variety of firepower lends itself to varied manners of enemies as you’re attacked by powerful single foes or hordes of the quick and nimble; in any situation you are well equipped to handle it.

The light powers you receive allow you new ways to defeat enemies such as slowing down time and even getting wings that allow you to glide around. You’ll have to earn these new powers through Precursor trials and then they are yours to use as you wish thereafter. If you’re a diehard platform gamer like I am then you won’t get enough opportunities to use them, but what is there is absolutely excellent.

The guns and controls serve Jak quite well, but what you will find at times is that the camera is not positioned well enough to see enemies coming at you from all directions and you’ll find yourself missing what look like simple jumps. The enemies do attack in numbers and from all fronts, and since you can’t see them you’ll find yourself spray shooting quite often. It can feel a little tedious at times to simply clear a room full of enemies by doing the same motion of jump and shoot several times, but fortunately this is a rare occurrence.

If you played Jak II then you’re probably wondering about the difficulty level. If you were like me then you found some of the missions in Jak II frustrating and unforgivable making it very hard to contain your rage and keep from breaking your PS2 controller. I’m glad to report that the difficulty has been toned down with only a handful of missions that may test your patience. Also welcome are the addition of checkpoints placed throughout a mission so you don’t have to entirely start over if you happen to make a mistake.

The only thing that disappointed me is the great sense of déjà vu when going back to Haven City. The city is slightly different than before, war-torn and reduced to rubble in some places, but you’ll definitely get the feeling that you’ve done this all before. You’ll visit a few of the same places you did in Jak II and do missions in all too familiar territory. Let’s just say I was never excited to go back to Haven City whenever the game called for it.

There is a variety of gameplay ranging from racing and stunt challenges, metal head raids, seek and destroy missions, timed trials, manning a turret, and several mini-games that are a joy to play. Jak 3 is not without its flaws, but they are small and mostly forgivable.

Presentation: 10
I’m not going to talk too much about this. If you’ve played the previous Jak & Daxter games then you know that Naughty Dog has a knack for creating story driven gameplay made up of amazing animation, clever humor, and great voice acting. It’s superb.

Graphics: 10
This game is beautiful. It’s locked at 60 frames per second which makes for silky smooth animation even when the screen is full of enemies and eye-bleeding effects.

Lastability: 9
There are 600 artifacts to find throughout the game, and the game only requires you to find around 200. It will challenge your racing skills with the buggies and leaper lizards and also test your ability to scavenge every last inch of the game for the hidden artifacts.

What may or may not disappoint you is the length of the game. If you simply run through the necessary missions of the game and ignore the bevy of extra challenges and hidden artifacts then you could finish in about 10 hours. If you want to get the most out of your purchase then there is at least an extra five hours or more of content to complete. I suppose this depends on what you expect out of your games today; myself, a ten hour game takes me weeks to complete because I simply don’t have a lot of time for video games. It was satisfying for me.

Conclusion
Save for the minor camera problems and recycled use of Haven City, Jak 3 is one of the best examples of what this generation of gaming has to offer. It looks outstanding and plays just as well. I sincerely hope that there is more in store for the duo as far as adventure and action games go.

Final Score: 9

Silent Hill 3

Sat, 06 Aug 2005 03:09:15 +0000

SILENT HILL 3 REVIEW
By Ryan

[bq]Silent Hill 3 is a direct continuation of the story we first saw in the first Silent Hill. Seventeen years have passed since Harry Mason traveled the hellish nightmares of the town and stopped the cult religion native to the region from calling forth its God.

Heather Morris is just your average seventeen-year old girl. Out one day at the mall to do a little shopping, she stops for a meal. Afterwards, she falls asleep, and begins to dream... a dream of a hellish place that resembles an amusement park. She finds herself packing several weapons, and looks at them incredulously, wondering why she has them in the first place. Seconds later, she finds she is not alone, and she finds why she has weapons... the place is crawling with terrible monsters that defy description and are all after her.

Awakening from her nightmare, she leaves the restaurant and calls her father. As she leaves, she is accosted by a shady man in a cheap hat and a trenchcoat, a man who calls himself Douglas Cartlandt, a detective with some information she might find useful. Wanting no part of it, she escapes the detective and begins to wander through the mall, but something's wrong. The place is deserted, so she thinks at first, until a gory mess leads her to a fashion boutique, and a face-to-face meeting with the monster from her dreams. Heather's nightmare is coming to life. [/bq]

Graphics: 10/10

[bq]The Silent Hill series has always been impressive graphically, but Silent Hill 3 may very well be tops among them, and most other games on the console to boot. For the first time, the entire game is displayed with realtime rendering, and the results are arguably as impressive as the FMV found in Silent Hill 2. The characters are exquisitely detailed, and the movements, especially in the face, are astounding in their realism. You could play the game without reading any text or hearing any dialogue, and just through the facial expressions alone, you can easily discern the emotions that a character is feeling onscreen. Monster design has taken a definite turn to the scary this time. Silent Hill 3's monsters are arguably the most freakish, imposing, and intimidating monsters in the series. Even the longtime veteran will jump when suddenly boxed in by a trio of Closers, seven-foot tall nasties with a long reach and a dangerous attack.

The environments are more detailed than SH2, and much more polished. You have the option of using the noise filter, but its use is no longer necessary to fully appreciate the graphics. Silent Hill 3 is definitely the bloodiest and goriest of the series, and the alternate Otherside versions of the locations you see are beautiful in their hideousness. In some places you will see neat effects like bleeding walls, and on higher difficulties, the environment will suddenly change into a gory, scabrous pulsating mess that does you some serious damage if you stop to admire it. One part in particular takes this to the extreme, where the decay is so malignant that you can barely tell you're in a human-built structure at all. Even the more normal enviroments are something to gawk at, full of detail despite always being cloaked in darkness.[/bq]

Sound: 9/10

[bq]The radio is a longtime holdover, and it makes an appearance in Heather's adventure as well, though it's not quite as useful as before. Most of the monsters make very distinct sounds, and unlike in past games, it's almost more frightening to just leave it off and rely on their noise. Most of the monsters are quite noticable, and some of them are just outright loud (pendulums). There are some audio moments though that are just fantastic, for instance, near the beginning of the game in the Mall, you run from a trio of Closers down a long, dark, bloody hall, and all around you hear the terrifying howl of the double-headed dogs and it freezes you solid, until you remember you have three vicious Closers at your back.
A new copy of Silent Hill 3 will include a free copy of the Official Sound Track, featuring twenty-five songs from througout the game. SH3's soundtrack is considerably more vocal than 1 and 2, but while there is a fair share of the creepy ambience the series is so well-known for, it's not quite as good as that of Silent Hill 2. The vocal tracks themselves are quite good, though admittedly, it took me awhile to grow to accept the idea.

The voice acting, though not surperb, is quite good, and the trend is improvement in the series. There are times when the writing slips and the dialogue just sounds unnatural, and times when the voice talent themselves just overdo it, but overall, it's a very passable effort, and very fitting. Heather's voice actress in particular, (Heather Morris, after whom the character was named) being forced to convey quite a bit of emotion, does a spectacular job. Three of the characters are part of the Order, and at times they really over-do the pious act. It's as much the writing, and it's integral to their characters', but near the end, Heather tells Claudia to "Shut [your] stinking mouth", and I couldn't help but echo the sentiment.[/bq]

Gameplay: 10/10

[bq]Silent Hill 3 is definitely the most action-oriented game of the series, with a far heavier emphasis on combat. Whereas Silent Hill 2 was basically a story about a man looking for his wife, full of interwoven complexities, Silent Hill 3 is quite a bit more straightforward in most aspects. There are many more monsters to get in your way, and they are considerably faster and more dangerous. Controls handle much the same as ever, with the Resident Evil tank-style movement in place, augmented by a poorly-implemented 2-D, Metal Gear Solid style control scheme. Heather wields many weapons familiar to Silent Hill veterans, such as the shotgun and steel pipe, with several that are anything but, many of them being unlockable. SH3 is also arguably the most difficult game in the series, especially when you consider that the difficulty levels go far beyond just Hard Mode. Defeating the game once opens Extreme difficulty, and each successive completion opens new levels of Extreme difficulty, all the way up to the nigh-impossible Extreme 10.

A long staple of Silent Hill gameplay is the puzzles, and like Silent Hill 2 before it, SH3 has selectable difficulty options regarding them. However, there is a far greater distinction in this game between easy and hard. Some of the puzzles and riddles on Hard Riddle Mode are fantastically difficult, requiring an almost insane amount of abstract thinking and stone cold logic. One puzzle in particular requires the player to have at least understanding of several William Shakespeare plays... and after you figure out which plays you need to know, the game throws in a numbers game in the same puzzle to further frustrate you. Another requires you to discern a four-number passcode by reading the macabre description of a person mutilating his lover's face. These, and more, are truly the riddler's joy, and if you can complete them without cheating, you ought to check in with your local MENSA chapter.

In addition to having to worry about your health, Silent Hill 3 adds additional stress in the form of a stamina rating. Almost any action you take depletes your stamina, be it running or using weaponry. Running out of stamina is hardly a good thing, for it decreases both the effectiveness of your combat and it slows your movement. It can be restored by standing still for awhile or by using health items. Speaking of items, the menu screen in this game is similar to the past two, but more streamlined. Instead of one enormous selection area for all items, they are now divided by event items, weapons, and supplies, making the task of finding a particular item much less of a hassle. [/bq]

Overall: 10/10

[bq]Silent Hill 3 is a very worthy addition to an incredible series, though this one is much better enjoyed after playing the first Silent Hill. It's quite a change after Silent Hill 2, but is a great game nonetheless, and in both gameplay and aesthetics, is one of the true gems of this console generation. An absolute must for fans of the genre. [/bq]

Silent Hill 2

Wed, 25 May 2005 09:18:00 +0000

Silent Hill 2 is the second in a horror series that has long captivated a cult following. Once again, we return to the silent, hauted New England resort town to see things we probably should never see.

James Sunderland, once upon a time, was a happy man. Married to a lovely, frail woman named Mary, his was a good life. They loved each other quite a lot. Unfortunately, the happiness was short-lived. Mary developed a rare disease, one which doctors were unable to cure. James was forced to watch his dear wife wither away, and three years ago, finally die.

Ever since, James has been an emotional train wreck, unable to come to grips with losing Mary. His life, in every aspect, has become sedentary and meaningless. As time goes by, he only sinks further into hopelessness and despair.

Then, one day, he got a letter. The name on the envelope said "Mary". His wife's name. The letter told him that she was waiting for him in their special place, in Silent Hill. A short, simple letter, and it was enough for the grieving James to ignore common sense and return to this misty town, hoping against hope that he would be able to see Mary again.

He had no idea what he was really getting into.

GAMEPLAY: 10/10

I really divide this into two sub-categories.

The actual gameplay itself is pretty standard survival-horror fare. James has about ten weapons at his disposal, both firearms and melee weapons. There are two different types of difficulties you choose upon beginning the game, each with four levels. The first is the Action level, which determines how difficult combat will be for you. On the easiest setting, Beginner, there practially isn't any. Monsters basically ignore you. Dying in beginner mode requires effort. On Hard mode, however, monsters are fast, hunt in packs, and hurt you badly. The one complaint here is that there is a huge jump in difficulty between Hard and Normal, the next level down.

The other difficulty setting is for the game's Riddles. This has three settings, Easy, Normal, and Hard, and a fourth, Extra, is available after clearing all three. Every puzzle or riddle in the game changes depending on this setting. Both the actual nature of the puzzle changes (texts for riddles will be completely different), and the result will also be different. Easy mode is really easy, nothing more than basic deduction is required. On Hard and Extra, you might want to keep a pen and paper handy. None of them are anywhere near obvious.

The actual gameplay itself is pretty standard. You can examine objects, hit monsters with your weapons, and use objects to solve puzzles. It's likely nothing you haven't seen before, and even if you haven't, it's nothing incredibly special anyway.

The other aspect of the gameplay is the game's story, and this is where Silent Hill 2 really shines. It is really difficult to explain this without totally ruining the story for you, but in this town, you meet several other people, and each of them have sordid pasts and ulterior motives. There is Angela Orosco, a young woman you first meet in a graveyard in the midst of searching for her mother. Even from the beginning, she seems to be a little on the wierd side, but you have no idea until later how deep that runs. Then, there is Eddie Dombrowski, a chubby, boyish guy who possesses both a child-like innocence and a devilish capacity for anger. Laura is a young girl who at first appears to be James' foil, yet has connections to Mary that will blow James away. There is Maria, a young woman whom James enounters that looks startlingly like his late wife. And finally, there is the infamous Pyramid Head, a gory butcher who wears blood-stained clothing, a large triangular headgear, excessively large pointed weaponry, and who stalks James like the worst of nightmares.

This game also features great replayability. There are many possible endings to Silent Hill 2 (Five if you have the normal version, seven if you find the Greatest Hits). Each of these endings is determined by many factors, such as how well you maintain your health, how you handle certain objects you acquire, how well you interact with Maria, and many others. Each of the endings is wildly different, and likely you would have to play through each time to see them all. Two of the seven endings are joke endings, the other five are not. If you have the Greatest Hits version, one of these endings is from an extra scenario called Born from a Wish, a short sub-game starring Maria, exploring an area James never sees, and providing great insight into her character and motives.

Graphics: 8/10

This game is a beautiful mess, it must be said.

You explore a great deal of the town of Silent Hill, and the detail is wonderful and elaborate. You feel like you're really walking in a small, deserted town that looks like it was recently inhabited. Inside of buldings the detail is no less elaborate, even though inside and out, your view is limited, outside from the beautiful swirling fog, inside from the complete darkness that only your flashlight can pierce. Textures are wonderful and there is wonderful attention to detail. Character models aren't incredibly spectacular but very appropriate. Expressions, moving lips, gestures are all easy to recognize.

The monsters are all suitably disgusting as well. In addition to their initial display of terror, each of them also has a symbolic value that you will discover as you play. Unfortunately, there is little variety in the monsters, but those that are there are chilling in their very appearance. The graphical style in general is predominated by certain colors, such as green, red and brown, and the style fits perfectly with the theme and tone of the game itself.

Sound: 10/10

The sounds of Silent Hill are absolutely spectacular. This game is more musical than the previous, and Akira Yamaoka's music is haunting, melodic, and absolutely perfect for every scene that features it. A lot of it is airy, flowing tunes that run on a slightly depressing note, but there are several guitar and piano pieces that are a delight to hear.

And in those long stretches where there is no music at all to hear, you get to experience the ambience of Silent Hill, which perhaps more than anything is what drags you in and keeps you captivated. It is impossible to fully describe the context of this ambience, since there are so many varieties and variations depending on the situation, but it's this ambience that chills you and creeps you out more effectively than any other aspect of the game.

Sound effects go along this same line. They are clear, crisp, and blend in perfectly with the action. Some of the monsters make noises that will haunt you long after you shut the game off.

Finally, the voice acting, which is an immeasurable improvement over the first game. Every character is given an appropriate voice, the writing is decent and the lines are almost always delivered as intended. Angela's voice actor, in particular, is incredible, even moreso considering that her voice role was by far the most demanding and the hardest to portray correctly. Through their voices you can easily determine their correct personality, and in an entertainment medium where voice acting is usually awful, this is an important achievement.

Final Score: 10/10

Impartiality aside, Silent Hill 2 is one of those games I can play for years and years. It's definitely not for everyone, but if you like Survival horror, and you want a game that is full of mystery, open to interpretation, and may keep you thinking hard for years afterwards, definitely find yourself a copy.

Need For Speed Underground 2

Wed, 25 May 2005 01:45:05 +0000

You were once the king of the streets. Your car and your skills made you unstoppable, until you beat the wrong guy, and you ended up in a hospital bed for months. When you finally got back to normal, you'd lost all your street cred, and you fly out to the city of Bayview to rebuild and reclaim your career. Fortunately, your sister has a good friend who's a well known racer in Bayview, by the name of Rachel Tellers (voiced by Brooke Burke). Rachel helps you get back on your feet by helping you buy your first car and instructing you on the workings of Bayview. Soon after she sees your skills, she becomes your manager, and will become your main source of information on sponsorship deals, photo ops, and general tips. From there, you're off to make a name for yourself and take back the streets.

GRAPHICS

There are many cars you will be able to drive and all are meticulously detailed, and you'll recognize them in real life on the streets. Of course, no racer will take you seriously in a car filled with stock parts, so it's time to juice up your ride to the teeth. Bumper, side skirts, spoilers, exhaust tips, mirrors, window tints...by the time you're done, you should barely be able to recognize the car you bought originally, but I guarantee you won't miss it. Sparks fly as you brush against walls, headlights shine realistically. If you can see it, you can customize it, and the options are nearly endless. You'll never have to worry about looking exactly like your competition.

SOUND

The game sports THX sound quality, so revving engines and screeching tires sound crisp and realistic. There are no complaints in the sound department. As for music, the game offers a wide array of songs in it's soundtrack ranging from rock to rap. Depending on your tastes, this could be a good or bad part of the game, but luckily, EA included a feature that lets you mix and match songs so you decide when they play, or even if they play at all. So in that way, even if you don't like most of the music, you don't have to suffer through it. Though it is only a matter of personal preference, I do find some of the rap tracks in the game detestable and nauseating, but am relieved that they can be removed.

GAMEPLAY

You're never without plenty of racing opportunities in Bayview, and the types of races are broken down into six different categories. Circuit, which places you on a set track that you must run laps around and, obviously, finish first. Sprint, which is a one-way race to to the end of a predetermined route. Drift, where you are given points for how well you slice around corners, drift, and slide along the track. You can win a drift race even if you finish dead last (or not at all) by having the most points. Street-X, which are basically enclosed, short, and very tight Curcuit races. Drag, which you must time your gearshifts perfectly to get maximum speed out of your ride to finish first. Finally, U.R.L. races (Short for Underground Racing League). These races are most commonly held on closed tracks or airport runways. U.R.L. races are very similar to Circuit races, only with more and better competition, no traffic, and worth much more prize money. The U.R.L. is invitation only, and you're only invited into the U.R.L races once you've landed a sponsor and shown your stuff on the streets. There is also one other optional type of race, called Outrun. While driving around the city, you may spot other street racers out riding. Get up close to them and they may challenge you to an Outrun race. The object of Outrun is self-explanatory: outrun your opponent. If you're trailing, stay on them and catch up as best you can. If you're ahead, do whatever you can to lose your pursuer. If a certain distance comes between you two, the winner gets a small amount of money, and some Outruns will reward you with unique parts and modifications.

Beyond upgrading the looks of your ride, you must also make sure it's just as pretty under the hood. Bayviews many performance shops can help you, as Rachel herself says, "Help turn your kitten into a tiger". Upgrade your engine, transmission, wheels, turbo, suspension, add nitrous, reduce your weight, and watch your top speed go through the roof.

Beyond that, there's only one thing left to do: Hit the gas and finish first. There are some small extras though. For instance, once you've installed nitrous oxide in your car, you can fill it even beyond it's capacity by exhibiting driving skills. Narrowly avoiding accidents, slicing through corners, taking the lead in a race, or finishing with a best lap time. An overfull nitrous tank might be just what you need to give you that boost to finish first. Realistic physics also allow skilled drivers to cause their opponents to spin out or force them into accidents. Don't forget though, that they can do it all to you too, so keep control of your car as best you can. Hey, this is the underground! The only rule is to win! Once you feel like you're good enough, you can take your car online and race against people all over the world.

One gripe I do have with the game is it's lack of damage. Sure, having to fix busted parts between races may be a bit of a hassle, but it kind of takes a bite out of the realism if you slam into a wall at 130 miles per hour, take no damage, and then just back up and drive away. Traffic accidents seem more like Hot Wheels cars smacking into each other on a track than full-blown collisions. You do get to see all accidents in slo-mo though, so even though they're unimpressive, they can still look cool.

CONTROLS

Controls are responsive and tight. While you can program whatever suits your taste, the original setup works just fine, and everything you need is easily at hand. Applying decals and parts to your car couldn't be easier and the interface is slick and easy to use.

REPLAYABILITY

Infinite replayability. Even after you've finished the story mode, you can quickly and easily set up any type of race you want, wherever you want, with whichever car you want. The game never gets stale.

Need For Speed Underground 2 will surely sate any hungry racers appetite and even appeals to those who wouldn't normally buy many racing games (I can attest to this). While it's by no means perfect, it's high replayability, amount of customization options, and decent visual polish certainly make this a ride worth taking. 8.5 out of 10.0

Final Fantasy X

Sun, 13 Jul 2003 00:45:42 +0000

Final Fantasy is one of the most revered franchises in all of gaming, with droves of followers and no sign of slowing down. Squaresoft appeases the masses once again with their latest offering, Final Fantasy X (10). Taking advantage of all the PS2 can do with great visuals, a well-made battle system, and an incredibly immersive plotline. Pay no heed to the owner of this website, he knows not what he speaks :).

You start as Tidus (or you can rename him whatever you want), the star Blitzball player of the Zanarkand Abes. Right in the middle of a game, a huge force levels the gigantic Zanarkand. Meanwhile, Tidus and his guardian Auron fight through monster-infested streets until finally being pulled up into the great entity, known as Sin. When he wakes up, he finds himself stranded in a world known as Spira, Auron is gone, he is alone. Eventually, he finds himself washed up on Besaid beach, where he meets the Besaid Aurochs, a blitzball team, and ther captain, Wakka. Tidus and Wakka proceed to the Besaid Temple and meet with the local summoner, Yuna, and her guardians, the short-tempered black mage Lulu, and the quiet but powerful Kimahri Ronso. Yuna has newly become a summoner, and she must now begin her pilgrimage to visit every temple in Spira, where she will acquire powerful Aeons to aid the team in battle, ending in the ruins of Zanarkand, where she will summon the Final Aeon and defeat Sin, like her father High Summoner Braska did before her. Tidus then learns Zanarkand was destroyed a thousand years ago, but he needs to see with his own eyes, so he accompanies Yuna on her pilgrimage. Along the journey, you meet Maester Seymour, who isn't all he appears to be...

The battle system is great, you can have three characters on screen at a time, out of the seven you'll eventually have in your full party. Each with their own skills. Tidus isn't very strong, but he's lightning quick. Wakka attacks with his Blitzball, and specializes in flying fiends. Every character has one or more unique, powerful attacks called Overdrives. They're reminiscent of the Limit Breaks seen in Final Fantasy VII. Each character has a guage beneath their name, HP, and MP which charges under circumstances you choose. In the beginning, you can only charge it by taking damage from enemies, but as the game progresses, you get many other options. For a character to perform an Overdrive with maximum power, you must complete a small task. For instance, Tidus' Overdrive requires you to time a moving line across a bar, hitting X to stop it within the gray area in the center. If you are not able to fulfill the requirement, the character will perform the attack, but it will be less powerful.

No longer must characters randomly accrue their abilities and attributes. Enter the Shpere Grid. The Sphere Grid is a gigantic surface filled with all sorts of upgrades. Winning battles and getting AP (Ability Points) will cause you to gain a Shpere Level, allowing you to move ahead one sphere and activate a new node. Nodes consist of abilities, HP and MP increasers, as well as additions for all other attributes such as Strength, Agility, Defense, and Magic. As you progress, you may find spheres capable of moving a character to a new part of the Grid. Thanks to the Sphere Grid, character advancement is almost limitless. If you're dedicated, you can have a party who knows all spells and skills in the game.

The graphics in this game are fantastic, the FMVs are in very high quality, even normal battle animations are great to look at. Even in the very beginning, you can't help but gaze in awe as Zanarkand is annihilated by Sin. At the beginning of every battle, the screen appears to shatter into glass shards, blow off the screen, and reveal the party and the attacking monsters. Even after beating the game, I still think it looks cool every time.

Sound is great too. It's so good, you can even buy the soundtrack. The battle theme is catchy, and the piano solo in the opening theme is quite well-done. The boss battles have a song that realy illustrates the high tension of such a difficult battle, while the peaceful Besaid Island has an upbeat sort of island tune. The voice acting is right on the mark. Everyone's voices fit so well that it's tough to imagine that they're really coming from somebody else. Auron's voice is deep and gravely, while Wakkas has an islandy accent to it.

Should you want a break from Yunas pilgrimage, you have a few other things you can do too. You can play Blitzball anytime you want after you play for a bit, and winning can get you some great rewards. You can recruit many unsigned players in Spira to play for the Aurochs, and make your team unstoppable. Among the great prizes you can win in Blitzball are new and devastating Overdrive attacks for Wakka. Or once you find it, you can gather monsters form all over Spira to take to the Monster Arena. You can buy special weapons which, when used to defeat enemies, will capture them. Capture all the monsters from a specific area, or a certain number from a species to unlock incredibly powerful optional boss monsters, as well as earn lots of rare items!

This is the game that everyone with a PS2 needs to have. It's not an option, it's an absolute requirement! I'm on my fifth game and I'm already considering a sixth. Buy it as soon as you can, and thank me later.