GameSpot's Month in Review for January 2004

Score: 8.4
Developer: Capcom
Publisher: Capcom
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PS2 Game of the Month

Review Excerpt

See screenshots of Maximo vs. Army of Zin

"The sadists who brought you 2001's Maximo: Ghosts to Glory are back for another hellish go with a new sequel, Maximo vs. Army of Zin. These games are noteworthy for two reasons. First, they're successors in spirit to the venerable Ghosts 'n Goblins platformers of yore, and second (following the first point), they're hard as all hell. Like its predecessor, Maximo vs. Army of Zin eschews modern gaming conveniences, like ample save points and unlimited lives, opting instead to make you sweat it out with only a handful of lives and lots of enemies and pitfalls to overcome. If you can grit your teeth and get past the daunting frustration factor, you'll find in Army of Zin a surprisingly deep and involved hack-and-slash platformer with a quirky, endearing style and a lot of heart."

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Capcom went above and beyond with the sequel to the, uh, delightfully hard Maximo: Ghosts to Glory. Rather than being a carbon copy of the first game, Maximo vs. Army of Zin introduces an entirely new combat and upgrade system that adds a lot of depth to the classic gameplay. Army of Zin also recognizes and fixes the design flaws present in Ghosts to Glory, which makes for a more streamlined and enjoyable game overall. Army of Zin is the perfect example of a sequel done right.

Check out our other PS2 reviews in January

R-Type Final (8.1)
"If R-Type must end, at least it's going out on a high note--rest assured that Final lives up to the classic R-Type name in every way."

Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance II (8.0)
"Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance II will surely satisfy players looking for a well-crafted, accessible action RPG experience."

NFL Street (7.9)
"If you've been eagerly waiting for some fast paced, hard-hitting football, NFL Street delivers what you're looking for."

Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel (7.3)
"It's basically a simple, mildly entertaining, and somewhat uneven quasi-futuristic dungeon crawl for one or two players."

Super Trucks Racing (7.1)
"Super Trucks Racing can be recommended simply for the fact that it emulates its chosen sport surprisingly well and does so at a meager price."

Mafia (7.0)
"Because the PS2 version of Mafia compromises the PC version's graphical presentation and also introduces more interruptions into the gameplay, it comes off like a mere shadow of the original."

Mobile Suit Gundam: Encounters in Space (7.0)
"There are certainly better ways to get a fix for your giant robot jones, but Encounters in Space still stands as one of the more accessible Gundam games to be released."

Sonic Heroes (6.2)
"Sonic Team almost seems to be daring you to try to have fun with the PlayStation 2 version by making it significantly uglier, slower, and generally just rougher around the edges than the other two versions."

.hack Part 4: Quarantine (6.1)
"Quarantine does wrap up the storyline, but those who couldn't bring themselves to stick with the .hack series really won't be missing out on much."

Star Trek: Shattered Universe (4.4)
"Perhaps if it existed in an alternate universe, Star Trek: Shattered Universe might be a game worth playing. Unfortunately, this is not the case."

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