Music Reviews of Videogames, PS2, XBox, Gamecube
Band Spotlight
Chiodos
Perhaps no one can explain the sheer ferocity and timid quietness it is better than when vocalist Craig Owens says “we don’t want to let the kids down” when discussing the group’s intense vocals live at shows. Well they never let a single kid down with their vicious assault on the ears and grip on the jugular...
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Current Top Ten Chart
Skinny Puppy - Mythmaker
Converge - No Heroes
The Graduate - Anhedonia
Death By Stereo - Death Alive
Comeback Kid - Broadcasting
The Snake The Cross The Crown - Cotton Teeth
Dear and the Headlights - Small Steps, Heavy Hooves
The Geeks - Every Time We Fall
Limbeck - Limbeck
WinterKids - Memoirs
03.09.2007 by J-Sin
Music Reviews of Videogames, PS2, XBox, Gamecube, Dreamcast
Scarface: The World Is Yours — PS2 Buy it at Amazon
When I first heard that they were doing a “Scarface” videogame, I thought to myself, “yeah but wasn’t that GTA: Vice City”? But boy was my cynicism out of place. Based on the movie but not retelling the tale, the storyline picks up at the shootout in the mansion, only this time Sosa’s men don’t kill you. With an all original script by screenwriter David McKenna (“American History X”, “Blow”), Scarface is fun and entertaining. Certainly built around the same look-n-feel as the Grand Theft Auto series, it offers a Blind Rage Mode, a Balls Meter, and a superb voice actor for Tony Montana who isn’t named Al Pacino. The targeting system is pretty interesting as it freely allows you to aim as well as lock onto an enemy. You can buy properties and turn them into drug warehouses, hire thugs to protect your property, and sell drugs via the property’s drug demand. There is a lot to do in the very open world of Scarface. Simply said, one of the better games of the year hands down.
- J-Sin
50 Cent: Bulletproof G-Unit Edition — PSP Buy it at Amazon
The presentation of the game is definitely pretty killer, making full use of G-Unit, 50 Cent and the gang’s music. Instead of the first-person shooter or third-person view, it’s a top-down view similar to role playing games or even “State of Emergency”. The game is based around an urban revenge story as 50 takes on the gangs and crime syndicates in the city. Eminem and Dr. Dre star in the game as two characters but even their star power doesn’t detract from the soiled gameplay which is riff in too many issues to mention.
- J-Sin
Madden 2006 — PS2 Buy it at Amazon
Oh, Madden, how I love thee. I pre-ordered the new Madden and like every year I was ready to go and get it as soon as I could. I got it and am still amazed at the impressive additions that they add each year. This year finds you able to play as a NFL Superstar, literally building your character starting with their parents DNA. After you’ve done that you get to go in the draft and manage your player’s appearance, go to practice, sign/fire an agent, stare in a movie, and conduct interviews. Along with that new functionality is all the great love you expect from another tremendous Madden title. But coupled with this is the new way that quarterback’s throw using something called the “vision cone”. Depending on how good a quarterback is they have a wider or skinnier cone that you move back and forth. This causes an increase in defense’s ability to “watch the quarterback’s eyes” and cause interceptions. But what it caused for me was to turn off that feature since it was very unwieldy to figure out, especially in game situations. The last thing that I didn’t like was the repeated and horrible remake of “What Would You Do With a Drunken Sailor?”, which seemed to be the same thing over and over again to the point where I was falling asleep and hearing that echo in my head!
- J-Sin
NCAA Football 2006 — PS2 Buy it at Amazon
First of all, I'm not much of a fan of college football let alone college football video games. But I needed to whet my appetite for the coming new Madden game. I also read that in this game you could create your own guy in the "Race for the Heismann Trophy" mini-game and it could be imported into the new Madden. So that’s for the most part why I picked it up. After playing several games I was frustrated that the controls (at least on the Playstation 2 version) weren't quite mirror images of the Madden Franchise making me stumble about trying to re-learn things. Yes I know it's a separate game but it’s built by the same company and is based around the same stuff so damn it I shouldn’t have to learn new controls. After those stumbling blocks were rectified I must admit I loved the additional defensive formations that you could call in the game. All in all, it's a pretty good addition to anyone who’s a sports fan and loves football games.
- J-Sin
EA Sports MVP Baseball 2005 — PS2 Buy it at Amazon
I’m a picky gamer when it comes to baseball games. I want statistics, real good stats mind you, good gameplay, and I like to abstract from fielding, opting that the computer field batted balls, while I concentrate on pitching and hitting. So when I got the 2004 version of EA Sports reversioned baseball game, I was thrilled that it was packed mostly with everything I wanted. While EA slacks off by not offering a ton of new options, they keep together all the good and thrilling parts of the game while adding some mini games, pitching/swing analysis, and some new secrets that you can unlock. Oh and did I mention that in Owner Mode you can now build your own stadium, manage all the finances, and upgrade your stadium’s seating (direly important), attractions, and restaurants. My one complaint, and it’s a very minor one, is that sometimes statistics aren’t quite right in the game—for example if you hit an inside the park homerun, the announcers will talk about it but your batter will be rewarded with a mere triple, RBI, and run scored rather than a homer! The in-game tuning options that are available make the game a unique challenge for any level of gamer. All in all, the absolute BEST baseball game out there by the company that puts out all the best sports games on the planet.
- J-Sin
Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas — PS2 Buy it at Amazon
The latest installment in the wildly popular and successful Grand Theft Auto series is San Andreas, a land eerily similar to San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Las Vegas—indeed their names are changed but the locations and landscape is pretty true to these three cities. What makes this game absolutely essential is the very scope of the game. In it, players can literally interact with practically every object. You can swim, you can climb fences, you can date a girlfriend, you can eat food and get fat or work out and have massive muscles. You can increase your abilities with a variety of skills—weapons, swimming, driving, and sex appeal are just a microcosm of the personal almost-Sims like role play. The game is undeniably massive with huge country and landscape in between the three cities; indeed each city is almost the same size of the last Grand Theft Auto game. Yes it’s that big! Gameplay is predominantly similar to Vice City though there are plenty of new tricks to learn. You can play basketball, gamble, and play dance mini games that remind of Dance Dance Revolution. This game is absolutely essential for any serious gamer or even casual Playstation nut.
- J-Sin
The Political Machine — PC Buy it at Amazon
The Political Machine is a new game for the PC that pits your political savvy against an opponent in the greatest and hardest political battle of them all—the White House. With a wide array of real politicians to choose from on the Democrat and Republican sides, there’s plenty of appeal for the political novice and elite alike. The player gets to give speeches, produce ads (negative and positive), go on television shows like “Barry King” and “60 Seconds”, as well as build campaign headquarters. There’s a ton of different issues that plague the nation and the goal is to win enough electoral votes to grab the White House. But you don’t just have to wage a campaign against the computer; indeed you can also build your own character and even play that character online against real players if you’d like. It’s fun and it gives everyone a chance to learn more about the entire political process. I’m totally addicted.
- J-Sin
Madden 2005 Collector's Edition — PS2 Buy it at Amazon
First as a warning to those of you that have some of the original Playstation 2 systems that were put to market—the 3000 series to be exact—you are guaranteed to have problems with disc read errors with this game and most likely will have problems with most of the new games (especially the EA sports games) in the future. Yes I experienced that and typically try around a dozen times using the old school techniques that got original Nintendo games to work—blowing inside the machine, wiping down the disc, beating on the machine, etc. Anyway if you’re familiar with the Madden series than you’ll be able to jump right in and play. The Collector’s Edition is special because it comes packaged with a massive Madden trivia challenge, older semi-complete Madden games from year’s past, as well as a variety of other nifty add-ons. As in last year, you can play online and get your rosters updated though apparently the online gaming community for ’05 has gotten a facelift to prevent some of the bad online game experiences people had in the past. Also what was disappointing to me was a feature that they removed—the salary cap option in Franchise mode—that’s right folks no more drafting/creating super players to crush the opponents with. Of course I still had no problem creating a team with most of my favorite players. In addition the franchise mode in of itself has gotten a complete overhaul. Now you can read a local newspaper for your team and find out what people (and your own players) are saying in the media as well as a national newspaper. You can also get “e-mails” from your team president, your players, coaches, and even the equipment manager. Also streaming while you make roster updates and franchise maintenance is the “Tony Bruno Show”, a radio show that has a variety of in-depth interviews with actual real coaches. It adds yet another dimension to an immense game. Each year people ponder whether or not it’s worth buying the latest Madden game, and each year EA proves that they will pull all the stops to help make the game more alluring. With the exception of the lame hardware issues, it’s all aces.
- J-Sin
Champions of Norrath: The Realms of Everquest — PS2 Buy it at Amazon
First of all, unfortunately this game has decided that it likes to crash—a lot. In the half-dozen or so first times playing, it crashed not once, not twice, but three times. So make sure you read up on their website about what the hell is going on before you buy it. But after you get over the whole I’ll-crash-when-I-damn-well-please, you’ll absolutely fall in love with this game from the people who’ve brought us the successful Baldur’s Gate games in the past. Not only is it a great role-playing game that features a great storyline and superb graphics but also it’s online (which is why I get crashes I believe—I disabled my Internet card) so you can beat up on your friends err join up with them rather. Lush landscapes, vicariously lived primeval experiences, and cool ambient effects make this game an essential.
- J-Sin
MVP Baseball 2004 — PS2 Buy it at Amazon
First let me start things off by saying that I’m extremely picky when it comes to sports games and baseball in particular. I want good stats that are realistic. I want to be able to draft my own team. I want to be able to simulate a whole season but most especially I want to build my own dynasty. I want good defense by the computer, smart decisions from the computer (let’s bring in another pitcher if you’ve just given up four runs in an inning), intelligent bat control and phenomenal pitching. Well I get all of that and more. What I like the most is the ability to win MVP points which you turn in for old stadiums, retro jerseys, Hall of Fame players, and more. They provided great tuning bars for those of us who can’t seem to hit well or pitch well, or just do it too good. The one downfall is it’s almost impossible for me to hit a home run. The batting system is difficult to hit that great pop fly that just keeps going out despite allowing you to direct your hit. Pitching, while initially a challenge, is relatively easy once you figure out the timing. Oh and you won’t find Barry Bonds in this game or any baseball game this year—his pompous ass asked for more money. But never fear Bonds/Giants fans, there’s a mysterious left fielder named Jim Dowd whose attributes are the same except that he’s white and bats right-handed. Funny little dig at Barry if you ask me. If it’s in the game, it’s in MVP Baseball 2004—let’s hope that the Madden curse doesn’t make its way over to this series otherwise Tony LaRussa will be losing even more hair.
- J-Sin
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