Firze's GameSpot Friend's Reviews Firze's GameSpot Friend's Reviews Firze's GameSpot Friend's Reviews en-us Copyright (c)1995-2013 CBS Interactive. All rights reserved. http://www.gamespot.com 20 Mon, 17 Jun 2013 23:27:12 -0700 GameSpot Firze's GameSpot Friend's Reviews http://img.gamespot.com/gamespot/shared/promos/misc/gs_logo.gif http://www.gamespot.com 135 40 Sun, 15 Jan 2012 10:45:19 -0800 Los9090 reviewed Dead Space: Extraction for the Wii... http://www.gamespot.com/dead-space-extraction/user-reviews/785795/platform/wii/ ...and gave it a 8.0.

Due to my financial constraints, I was unable to play the original Dead Space when it first came out in the Fall of 2008. Some of us can recall the economy taking a hit that year so I had to be thriftier than usual. And just when I was about to buy the game, my laptop died. So I was thrilled when the Wii put out a prequel to the series the following year.

At first I was nervous about playing a rail shooter style, since I'm so used to exploring the environment first hand in the first person shooter genre. But it turned out to be a lot of fun and takes a lot of pressure off from finding things to that regard. Instead, you just have to pay attention visually so you can get weapons, pickups, and power ups through a kinesis method. There are four different levels of difficulty, and once you get the hang of the controls, you can enjoy playing on the most difficult level.

I played the the game with the Wii remote and nunchuk and found it to be very useful and the shooting engagements with the Necromorphs are great. Necromorphs are the mutated humans from the result of extracting the Red Marker on planet Aegis VII. You have to make sure to dismember your enemies because headshots aren't going to do the trick in Extraction. You have a variety of weapons to choose from to accomplish this. I'm a big fan of the flame thrower, line gun, and the plasma cutter. The force gun, pistol, and pulse rifle also are very useful. The weapons have a secondary fire option if you twist the remote in a certain way. You also have the ability to Stasis the Necromorphs to put them in slow motion and making them easier to kill or to give you some time to either reload or handle a different enemy.

The Story Mode is a lot of fun but it can be tedious when you already know what happens if you decide to play a different difficulty level. However it's useful because you'll want to use your kinesis to power up your weapons. The Bonus Materials provide a lot of replay value as you have to fend off 10 waves of Necromorphs and try to score as many points as possible. The game is a bit on the short side, but if you can pick up this game for $20, it's a great bargain!

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"Los9090 reviewed Dead Space: Extraction for the Wii..." was posted by Los9090 on Sun, 15 Jan 2012 10:45:19 -0800
]]> http://www.gamespot.com/dead-space-extraction/user-reviews/785795/platform/wii/ Fri, 06 Jan 2012 01:33:59 -0800 extracrispy reviewed Mario Party 8 for the Wii... http://www.gamespot.com/mario-party-8/user-reviews/785197/platform/wii/ ...and gave it a 6.0.

I'm a big fan of the Mario Party series, although I always have someone to play with, have never indulged myself in the SP aspects of the game, I was thoroughly disappointed with the board design. There used to be a happy balance between skill and luck to tip the edge in your favor, now it's just mindless rolling of a dice and buying as much candy pieces as possible for a few bonus stars at the end.
Things like having a shopping star, green spaces star, and candy bonus stars are just the tip of the iceberg with the amount of luck required to win a game. Duel candies are barely worth a buy sometimes with usual 20 coin prices, because the payout if you win must be randomly picked to a usually max of 20 coins, although a star can sometimes appear on the dartboard. But that's just it, you'll never know…which seems to be the underlying theme of this game.
I also have a bone to pick with the allocation of mini-games. There are an obscene amount of games in the duel section which happens maybe twice a game, and only 6 battle games and 10 1v3 games! Distributing them among the 2v2 and 1v3 brackets would do wonders, because I can't tell you how many times I have to 1v3/3v1 in a game. Seems like there's not enough blue spaces on the board, too much luck of the draw tiles to be had I suppose. As for graphics even for a Mario game you've come to expect a little more than what is offered, while being the least of it's worries you can definitely add it to the list.
The game still has a nice array of games you can play along with a few cool unlock-ables including staff records and two playable characters, as with any other Nintendo game, and with enough people at your side it can still prove to be highly entertaining, but with so many flaws it's hard to keep rooting for this franchise to succeed. There is definitely wasted potential with this game and hopefully Nintendo learns from it's mistakes and gets their act together with the series. IMHO if you're looking to buy/own this game, do NOT pay more than $10....like i did.

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"extracrispy reviewed Mario Party 8 for the Wii..." was posted by extracrispy on Fri, 06 Jan 2012 01:33:59 -0800
]]> http://www.gamespot.com/mario-party-8/user-reviews/785197/platform/wii/ Fri, 16 Jul 2010 21:10:06 -0700 CHAMPANERIA reviewed Dead Space for the PlayStation 3... http://www.gamespot.com/dead-space/user-reviews/729230/platform/ps3/ ...and gave it a 8.5.

Story: just dead good, play as a unique engineer on a mission to fix a ship go on board find out its empty and go from each area of a ship fixing and finding out what went wrong with scares along the way...fix the lights, doors, hydraulics each part of the ship you fix kinda kool really oh some werid stuff along the way I didn't follow completely tho too scared half the time playing to listen to what they yell at you while things are jumping around. A solid 8/10 or higher

Gameplay: weapons and cutting limbs off enemies make this game fun too play with one of the best weapon upgrade systems...slow pace as its dark and you slowly walk around hallways killing what jumps at you...takes about 8-12hours with replaying at high value as you will not upgrade your suit and weapons the first play. A solid 8/10 or higher

Graphics: very atmospheric scray spaceship feels like your there. Amazing hud display without menu loading all real time effects and displays. Can't complain about graphics easily 8/10 or higher

Replay Value: the weapon upgrade system is amazing and allows you to replay upgrading fully threw different playthroughs...all you can ask for a single-player driven game as the focus. 8.5/10 or higher really liked the upgrade system here other games need to be like this.

Sound: no music really just mute dead space good sound effect some scary effects put in empty rooms get less scary along the way. Some music would of been nice 7/10 or higher

Overall: It an ambitious game none like it really and does what it set out to do very good and rare. Second most scaries game I think I've played to FEAR 1 and some Resident Evil games disturbingly gruesome deep-space adventure that will haunt your dreams and leave you wanting more! overall if they polished this a bit more it would be one to remember for a long time its still a solid game however must play and experience.

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"CHAMPANERIA reviewed Dead Space for the PlayStation 3..." was posted by CHAMPANERIA on Fri, 16 Jul 2010 21:10:06 -0700
]]> http://www.gamespot.com/dead-space/user-reviews/729230/platform/ps3/ Tue, 20 Oct 2009 10:51:50 -0700 dobeslao reviewed Gran Turismo for the PSP... http://www.gamespot.com/gran-turismo/user-reviews/687765/platform/psp/ ...and gave it a 8.5.

Sadly missing from GT on PSP is vehicle upgrades. If you wanted to be able to kit out your cars with new turbo kits, rear wings and a sports gearbox, you're not going to find it here. There is a set of tuning options, though, with power, weight, aerodynamics, ride height, spring rate, damper toe and camber angle all being adjustable in the Quick Tune menu. Without any way to invest extra cash in your cars or visually customise them, it's unlikely you'll grow as attached to them as you probably did with your best in previous GTs. The knock on effect of this is that it makes the game feel a bit dated in comparison to other recent racers.

There are no championships, no trophies and to that end, no sense of achievement. You're just grinding races. Being forced to race the easy grades for each and every race is bloody infuriating. That's hours of monotonous play time spent light-years ahead of the pack on an empty course.

For all intents and purposes GT on PSP looks like GT4 with lower resolution textures and some unfortunate graphical glitches. It's easily the most visually impressive racer on the PSP, for the most part running at a silky 60 frames per second, but dotted white lines that appear on the tracks and scenery give the game an almost rough appearance. The built up courses are by far the most impressive, boasting stunning detailed buildings and gorgeous views, and the vehicle models are what you'd expect from a developer that clearly loves everything about cars. There's also a solid audio track list and each of the cars sound authentic - you can even play your own MP3s once the feature is unlocked.

Within the single player, you have time trails, single races and drift trails, as well as a set of challenges. The challenges aim to teach you how you're supposed to tackle driving skills that start with braking and go through more complex acts such as driving through S-bends and taking on corners and will take some time to complete.

When you're on the track, the game controls fairly well. The PSP's analog nub has never been as responsive as a real controller. At times it feels as if the car you're driving isn't turning as hard as you want it to, but there's rarely any point where you don't feel in complete control of your vehicle. Gran Turismo's console brethren rely on pressure sensitive buttons for the gas and brakes, and hitting either too hard would often result in a spin out.

When playing with a friend, you had better hope they're in the same room as you because the only way to play Gran Turismo with more than one player is through

Make no mistake, this is Gran Turismo as you remember it but on a handheld, and done in a way that betters what I imagined was possible. It looks great, plays superbly and has an absolute ton of content to work through.

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"dobeslao reviewed Gran Turismo for the PSP..." was posted by dobeslao on Tue, 20 Oct 2009 10:51:50 -0700
]]> http://www.gamespot.com/gran-turismo/user-reviews/687765/platform/psp/ Tue, 15 Sep 2009 04:38:50 -0700 kittykatz5k reviewed Scribblenauts for the DS... http://www.gamespot.com/scribblenauts/user-reviews/681437/platform/ds/ ...and gave it a 8.5.

Story:
You're a Scribblenaut! It's never quite explained where you come from or what your goal is, and I personally think a story, even if it's as wacky and unreal as say Elite Beat Agents or LittleBigPlanet, would have helped. However as it stands, your only explanation for anything is that you're a Scribblenaut. In puzzle levels, this often means helping out a person in need, and in action levels, this often means just seeking out a starite.

Graphics:
It's bright, it's colorful, and it's efficient. Out of the thousands of items in this game, I've been able to accurately identify anything that gets spawned. It doesn't sound like I'm saying much when I say that, but of thousands of items on the DS's little screen, being able to see a pocket watch and know it is a big task. There are nice little effects hidden around like being able to spawn a rainstorm or using a moon to go from day to night, but overall the idea here is quantity over quality. Items get extremely pixelated when they're on uneven surfaces, and often stuff like spy and ninja will share the exact same model.

Gameplay:
This game plays almost exactly as you think it will, and with a game as ambitious as this, that's a huge task. You can spawn anything within some loosely followed rules of no copywrite, vulgarity, ect. to solve anything. Over 200 levels, split half an half between action and puzzle levels, give you a large variety of tasks to accomplish. However that's not the first thing you'll be doing most likely, as right from the title screen, they give you a blank slate level to mess around in already. Yes, you can glue a chainsaw to a motorcycle and ram it into zombies and yes, you can finally know what happens when a Lammergeier and a Hoatzin fight over lunch.

Getting past the initial lets mess around with everything stage of the game, you get to a fairly well made game. There is no story or order to anything so really getting out of the training level, you're just kicked into a world of over 200 problems that need to be solved. When solved, a puzzle will arbitrarily rate you on how well you did. I don't think I've ever gotten a style score over 120, and my time score is always through the roof. With these points, you can buy avatars and music at the shop or buy more levels to play. The levels are good fun and have produced just as many laugh out loud moments as the messing around mode did. If you find a level fun, you can take on the advanced challenge, where you play the level 3 times in a row, not using any items you used last time. It mixes up your solution to everything and makes it so god can't just sit there as your ultimate warrior for anything that needs a beating.

I have a couple of problems with the game however that hold this back from being the best ds game everyone was hoping for. One is that the item limit, mostly in the level maker, is too small. The developers seemed to have had a lot more space to work with because their levels often have twice the stuff yours can have. Two is that movement is buggy. Touchscreen controls both items on screen and your character's movements. If you have something small you wanna pick up, you will often tell your guy to run to it, which in some levels, will cause traps to go off or just cause you to run right into lava. Last is that some levels just don't feel polished. In one situation, I was robbing a museum when I set off the alarm system. This caused an extra security guard to appear where I came from, but the guard oddly enough was friendly to me, and actually started to beat up the guards that were already in the level. Despite these flaws though, ranging from small quirks to major frustrations, you get over it eventually just because you want to enjoy a game like this.

Sound:
The sound really is the department this game lacks most in. The music has a bunch of nice remixes of it's main tune, but doesn't get a single spot on my MP3 player. It is functional, but nothing more. The sounds of everything else is just terribly lacking. Most animals and objects make no sounds at all outside of the most common animals like cat or dog. Musical instruments have a little whimper to them when I touch them, but become as silent as a mime when I give them to rock stars and other people. A didgeridoo makes the sound of a flute, an accordion makes the sound of an organ, and every creature makes a total of two noises max. The sound really feels like a missed opportunity as other than that, every object really feels like it had a lot of work put into it. The game is just as good played in mute as it is played with headphones on max.

Who wants this game?
Anyone who has read a description of it and says "Hey, that's a really cool idea!". It has a good number of flaws to it's formula, but doing anything has never felt so fun.

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"kittykatz5k reviewed Scribblenauts for the DS..." was posted by kittykatz5k on Tue, 15 Sep 2009 04:38:50 -0700
]]> http://www.gamespot.com/scribblenauts/user-reviews/681437/platform/ds/ Tue, 10 Mar 2009 18:45:37 -0700 lockard34 reviewed Call of Duty: World at War for the Xbox 360... http://www.gamespot.com/call-of-duty-world-at-war-2008/user-reviews/648792/platform/xbox360/ ...and gave it a 9.0!

I just bought this game about 2 weeks ago and i got to say AMAZING. the gameplay is fantastic and all the weapons are easy to get use to. multiplayer is also very good. During the multiplayer as you rank up you get a huge varity of weapons,grenades,and perks in which better you during the gameplay. Also plenty of maps to choose from that can meet anybody standards. there are a few downsides graphics are not the as good as they could have been for being on the 360 but still pretty good. the sounds that some of the guns make are a bit on the childish side. And best of all the Nazi zombies this is a fantastic 4 player co-op game that as you progress through levels they get stronger and faster and enlarge in numbers to the point that if you cant work with your teammates then your history. Overall this game is fantasic with it's amazing gameplay and the very addictive online multiplayer.

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"lockard34 reviewed Call of Duty: World at War for the Xbox 360..." was posted by lockard34 on Tue, 10 Mar 2009 18:45:37 -0700
]]> http://www.gamespot.com/call-of-duty-world-at-war-2008/user-reviews/648792/platform/xbox360/ Fri, 20 Feb 2009 12:27:42 -0800 -Jankka- reviewed Grand Theft Auto IV: The Lost and Damned for the Xbox 360... http://www.gamespot.com/grand-theft-auto-iv-the-lost-and-damned/user-reviews/645203/platform/xbox360/ ...and gave it a 9.0!

More than six months later the original Grand Theft Auto IV had been released, the first downloadable content episode for the GTA IV, named The Lost and Damned is finally released exclusively for the Xbox 360. It's time to take a look at the The Lost and Damned, and see if it was really worth the wait, and Microsoft's money.

In The Lost and Damned, you play as Johnny Klebitz, the vice president of the Lost biker gang, who you might remember from the original Grand Theft Auto IV, if you just payed attention.
The story begins, when Billy Grey, the leader of The Lost is released from prison, and he comes back leading the biker gang.
The story might not pull you in from the very start, but it comes interesting as the story moves on, and things start going to hell.

As for the new gameplay features, well, there's not much, but doesn't necessarily mean it's a bad thing. Sure, you will notice that the difficulty has been adjusted, and it might feel a little too hard at first, especially you haven't played GTA IV in the last few months. The gameplay is still solid, and feels rewarding. The game is quite lengthy, packing around 8 hours of gameplay, of course depending what kind of gamer you are.

Something that's new and very welcome addition to the missions, is the fact that there are checkpoints. You won't really get that same kind of frusturation you might have had in the past with the original GTA IV, where you had to say, chase someone a hundred miles, and after this you're caught in a firefight and the last guy kills you just when you're about to kill him, but you had to reload and he shoots you, and then you'll have to do it all again.
There's new weaponary, minigames / activities, soundtrack, new cars and most noticeably the increased ammount of bikes, which makes sense of course since you'll be riding your bike pretty much 60% of the time you're in a vehicle of any kind. There's less variety than in the original game, where you went flying, running, boating and car chasing, but this time around the game is built around the bikes.
You might remember from Niko's adventures, that bikes were a little hard to handle at times, especially at high speeds, and you went flying out of the window pretty easy, but thankfully, this has been changed. The bikes are much easier and fun to control now, and it's almost hard to fall off your bike now. Rockstar also gave this tweak an excuse, saying that Johnny, as he's more experienced as a biker than Niko, he can handle the choppers alot better.
Sadly, with all the new content added, very little of the content can be linked, almost none to either game, the original and the DLC that is. You can't enter the buildings you explore in the original game, or most of them atleast and you can't access the new buildings and weaponary introduced in The Lost and Damned when you're playing as Niko.
Speaking of Niko, there are a few missions where you and Johnny go together, which you may remember from the original game. Niko isn't the only familiar face in TLAD, but I won't spoil the rest of it for you. You'll just have to play it yourself.

As for the voice acting, and visuals, nothing has really changed. The visuals are the same, except for the added film grain filter, which fits the game.. well, sort of, but it can be also be turned on or off, making it pretty much your call which way you like it.
I personally dont feel that the visuals are any bad, even though some might say, "Hey, it's like an year old dude." It's certainly one of the better looking games for the consoles, especially when you look it in the visuals / performance / console point of view.
And when I say that nothing in voice acting hasn't changed, that's positive. The voice acting is great, from the beginning to the end, and it feels that the voice actors really got into their characters.

The coolest part about The Lost and Damned is propably the links given between all the new characters. This makes the game feel like there's a story behind every character in Liberty City. There are so many interesting characters, that you just wish that you could play all of those characters, and experience their background story. It makes the Liberty City even more immersive place than the Liberty City you experienced before when you were playing as Niko Bellic. Now, the world just sucks you in.


Overall, The Lost and Damned is certainly worth the 1600 Microsoft Points, which is around 20 euros ( or dollars ), and it's actually a very good reason to buy a copy of GTA IV again, if you've sold it in the past once already. It's a great DLC, and I'd actually like to call it a game itself, since it packs so many missions, alot of gameplay and content for a price so cheap.







-Jarno 'Jankka' Vihonen

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]]> http://www.gamespot.com/grand-theft-auto-iv-the-lost-and-damned/user-reviews/645203/platform/xbox360/ Fri, 28 Nov 2008 22:13:18 -0800 dobeslao reviewed Need for Speed Undercover for the PSP... http://www.gamespot.com/need-for-speed-undercover/user-reviews/627612/platform/psp/ ...and gave it a 9.0!

I think this game has lost something in various iterations, i hope they recover the oldest formula that take with NFS: Own the City, the game is a kind of linear, there no much surprises, the car list is good but reduced, and the game has some glitches the ia is a king of fuzzy, sometime goes well but others can be foolish.

It's hard to believe that this game has no more relevance sice this is a mature game, but EA has put more branding that innovating in the game.

I hope they fix the game direction in the futures releases, they have a very very bad taste with the previous game (NFS: Pro Street) and they try to recover the formula, but they have to make better than this.

The control feels fine, and the game feels fast, you can get intensive races, and get variety of levels, you start well with some tracks and you grow in the expertise quickly, maybe you have to redo some races for the dominate stuff, and get more points (and 100% completition) and it's ok, just come back when you get a better car, and easy get it.

I enjoy the central tematic of the game, but i insist in they can be based in NFS:OWC and give you some support vs your opponets. You can get a middle satisfaction with this game.

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"dobeslao reviewed Need for Speed Undercover for the PSP..." was posted by dobeslao on Fri, 28 Nov 2008 22:13:18 -0800
]]> http://www.gamespot.com/need-for-speed-undercover/user-reviews/627612/platform/psp/ Tue, 25 Nov 2008 04:12:21 -0800 -Jankka- reviewed Call of Duty: World at War for the PC... http://www.gamespot.com/call-of-duty-world-at-war-2008/user-reviews/626699/platform/pc/ ...and gave it a 9.0!

It's been one year or so since the release of Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, the smash hit of the Call of Duty series which was originally developed by Infinity Ward, and at times, Treayarch taking it's own attempts at enhancing the video game franchise ( Call of Duty 2: Big Red One, Call of Duty 3 ).

In World at War, we'll take a timemachine back to the World War II from the modern day. You'll be fighting as an US Navy soldier, Private Miller in the front-lines of the conflicts of Japan and as Private Dimitri Petrenko of the Soviet Red Army, fighting your way from the ruins of Stalingrad all the way to Berlin.
The characters don't show much emotion, but the game 'successfully' captures the horrors of the war. It's brutal on both sides of the conflict, and no mercy is shown. The voice acting is great, although there isn't much chatter, but other than that, non-stop action.
The battles move on very smoothly, and you'll never be bored nor hear silence in the war. To give a little variety, a few missions you'll step in a vehicle, but it's not really the most loveable element of the
game, even though it's all smooth in terms of gameplay.

The Contrast between the two battlegrounds is huge; The Japanese might 'banzai attack' you from anywhere, hide in the trees, or in small dug holes in the ground covered with foliage, whereas the Wehrmacht have heavier weaponary and might burn you down with a flamethrower. Speaking of which, the game has a great variety of weaponry. The guns have a nicely unique feel to them, and they sound great as well.

The visuals are great, and the game runs great on a modern system. Yes, it's the Call of Duty 4 engine, but the visuals aren't in any way outdated. The music gives a quite intense feel to the game at times, and also the sounds of war give an impression of a massive battle.

In-game cutscenes make intense scenes and great cinematic kind of feel to the game.

After the singleplayer's done, you'll propably enjoy the Multiplayer.
The multiplayer uses the great multiplayer system of the Call of Duty 4, which allows you to make classes, customize your weapons, choose perks that improve your class in numerous different ways. You earn them getting experience in the multiplayer, and getting new ranks. You'll level up quickly at the start, and it's not like those who already have the highest possible rank, have the most advantage.
There are also tanks in multiplayer of the World at War, they might feel a little overpowered at times but nah, they're great.

There's also something else that's new; four player co-op.
You can play the campaign with three of your buddies, and this a nice addition to the Call of Duty series.

In the end, World at War is propably one of the best World War II First Person Shooters of all time. It's fun to play, everything's smooth, and it'll really suck you in.
If you're looking for a FPS, this is something you should definitely give a try, even if you're new to the Call of Duty series in whole.

The singleplayer packs about 8 hours of gameplay, depending on what difficulty setting you play, or what kind of a game you are, and the multiplayer is a long lasting, great experience that will definitely keep you playing.



-Jankka

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"-Jankka- reviewed Call of Duty: World at War for the PC..." was posted by -Jankka- on Tue, 25 Nov 2008 04:12:21 -0800
]]> http://www.gamespot.com/call-of-duty-world-at-war-2008/user-reviews/626699/platform/pc/ Fri, 07 Nov 2008 19:50:23 -0800 cornholio157 reviewed Spyro 2: Ripto's Rage! for the PlayStation... http://www.gamespot.com/spyro-2-riptos-rage/user-reviews/621557/platform/ps/ ...and gave it a 9.5!

Riptos rage is the sequel to the hit PS1 3D platformer spyro the dragon. Starring you guessed it, spyro.

The controls in spyro 2 are the same as in the first game, but ill give you an overview for those who haven't played the first one. The X button is to jump, press it again in mid jump to glide. Square uses the charge attack and allows you to run. Circle is to use Spyros flame breath attack. And triangle uses sniper view while standing still and while in a glide allows you to hover at the end of your glide to gain extra distance and height. And as always L2 and R2 control the camera.

This game starts off after you defeat gnasty gnorc in the original game. Spyro decides he needs a vacation but unknowingly is headed right into another adventure. Meanwhile a desperate group in a land called avalar in an effort to get rid of ripto try to intercept a dragon with their portal and happen to catch spyro on his way to dragon shores. His only way out of avalar is to defeat ripto first.

The layout of this game is the same as in spyro 1. Home worlds with portals leading to other smaller worlds or levels as I call them. Collecting treasure is still a major part of this game, but players from the first game will notice that the gems have gotten a makeover. Although instead of saving dragons your going to be collecting talismans from all the worlds in avalar, aswell as collecting orbs.

The game begins in a world known as glimmer where you will learn the basics of the game from the gemcutters. In order to obtain a worlds talisman you must complete that level. However collecting orbs will be a bit more complicated, it requires you to complete many challenges along your journey, all the while learning new skills. It wont take long for you to run into money bags, he can be quite a pain throughout the game but you cant complete it without paying him. Paying him isn't always all bad though, sometimes hell offer to teach you valuable new skills like swimming and climbing. Allowing you to reach new areas of the game you couldn't reach before.

Another new feature to this game is the powerup. Like the fairies from spyro 1 whose kiss makes spyros flame super powered, now theres a super flame powerup that will allow spyro to shoot super powerful fire balls for a short time. Remember the super charge ramps, well now there also in a powerup. Along with these two new powerups are introduced the super fly powerup allowing spyro to fly for a short time and the invulnerability powerup allowing spyro to walk on lava and other normally untouchable surfaces for a short time.

Just like its predecessor this game has many hidden areas where treasure and sometimes even orbs can be stashed away. A keen eyed observer may be able to find their way to some of these hidden treasures. This may seem a bit of a let down but avalar has only 3 home world compared to the originals 6. the upside to this is there are many more portals to other levels in these home worlds to explore. The flight levels have also been changed, they are now called speedways but they are still the same basic concept of completing the course before time runs out.
Anyone who enjoyed the first spyro the dragon should defiantly play this one if you haven't already, as far as the saying goes the sequels never as good as the original, this games an exception .The improvements in this game and the detailed story makes this one sequel worth playing. Just like the first one theres plenty to keep you completionists busy for many hours, especially for those who want to see dragon shores and find out whats behind that locked door that requires all the treasure and orbs in the game.

Get the full article at GameSpot

"cornholio157 reviewed Spyro 2: Ripto's Rage! for the PlayStation..." was posted by cornholio157 on Fri, 07 Nov 2008 19:50:23 -0800
]]> http://www.gamespot.com/spyro-2-riptos-rage/user-reviews/621557/platform/ps/ Fri, 07 Nov 2008 12:18:27 -0800 cornholio157 reviewed Spyro the Dragon for the PlayStation... http://www.gamespot.com/spyro-the-dragon/user-reviews/621424/platform/ps/ ...and gave it a 9.2!

Spyro the dragon first off is a 3D platformer for the PS1. The hero in the game is a small and very strong headed young dragon known as spyro. The game starts off with all the other dragons being turned into crystal statues by Gnasty Gnorc, the enemy of the dragons. Spyro sets out on his quest to rescue the dragons and defeat gnasty gnorc.

The controls are very simple, the square button uses the charge attack and allows you to run, the X button makes spyro jump and if hit again in mid jump allows him to glide. The circle button uses spyros flame breath attack and the L2 and R2 buttons move the camera left and right.

You start the game in the artisan home world one of 6 home worlds in the game. Within each home world there are portals to other areas, enemies created by gnasty gnorc, dragons and treasure. These portals will take you to the levels of the game each level will have a few dragons to rescue aswell as a number of treasure to recover. The levels vary greatly but will get harder the farther you get in the game as will the secret spots where treasure can be hiding. To get to other home world you need the balloonist, each new home world has a new balloonist and he will require you to complete a task for him to allow passage to the next world. These tasks range from having a certain amount of treasure to rescuing a number of dragons or dragon eggs.

Also in each of the dragons realms home worlds (the first 5) you will find 3 portals leading to other levels 1 portal to that worlds boss and 1 flight level portal. The final world is gnastys world the lair of the games final boss gnasty gnorc. There are only 2 levels in gnastys world before you can face the gnorc himself, of course simply beating gnasty gnorc won't complete the game. There is a bonus level in gnastys world known as gnastys loot. To access the loot you must find all dragons treasure and dragon eggs in the entire game, I won't reveal the surprise waiting for you in the loot you can find out on your own.

The game its self may not be very long, that is if you play straight through because you've beaten it before and know where everythings at. But it is an entertaining game and will last you first timers and completionists quite a while trying to get that 100% for the bonus level. If you haven't played this before or have played other spyro games this game is defiantly worth picking up if you can find it.

Get the full article at GameSpot

"cornholio157 reviewed Spyro the Dragon for the PlayStation..." was posted by cornholio157 on Fri, 07 Nov 2008 12:18:27 -0800
]]> http://www.gamespot.com/spyro-the-dragon/user-reviews/621424/platform/ps/ Wed, 05 Nov 2008 20:38:56 -0800 cornholio157 reviewed Pokemon Ruby Version for the Game Boy Advance... http://www.gamespot.com/pokemon-ruby-version/user-reviews/620989/platform/gba/ ...and gave it a 9.6!

With this being the third generation of pokemon there's a lot to expect and this being the first pokemon game for gameboy advance there's plenty of capability to deliver. With the enhanced graphics and color palette available to the gameboy advance you won't be disappointed.

As in all the pokemon games you choose your starter pokemon from the three basic types of fire, water and grass. As with every new generation of pokemon these starter pokemon are new and unique to the new region and are only attainable from the beginning of the game, so you can't collect them all alone unless you have 2 game boys and a link cable.

In the Ruby and Sapphire versions you are in the Hoenn region where your family just moved to but your dad is already here and he is the gym leader in the nearby pokemon gym. Much like the original Red and Blue versions your rival is your neighbor and a relative of the local pokemon professor who lives in your new home town. In this game the feature of choosing to play as either a male or female character is still available. Whether you choose to be the male or female character will change which house you live in and who your rival will be, your rival will always be the character of the opposite sex who you didn't choose to play as.

Just like in the past games the first gym you find won't be your first opportunity to earn a badge, this is actually your dads gym and you will be facing him last for the 8th badge. The world keeps a familiar look to it but unlike its predecessors the routes are numbered in the 100s starting with route 102. There is also the return of the criminal element in the form of a gang of pokemon trainers, only this time there are two opposing gangs. Depending on whether you play Ruby version or Sapphire version will determine who is on your side and who your enemy is. This also determines which ancient pokemon you are given a chance to capture in the game. The two pokemon on the covers of the games are available only in the game cover they appear on. For ruby version you'll be facing team magma and be after the ancient ground type groudon. And in sapphire you'll be facing team aqua and taking your chances on capturing the powerful ancient water pokemon kyogre.

There are many more differences between the two versions more than just what rare pokemon are available, but just like the original versions and gold/silver alike only certain species are captureable in each game version. Aswell as some are more common on one version than the other. These games also introduce a total of 135 new pokemon species with 262 species captureable in both versions. With the new pokemon brought by the se versions it makes the grand total of 386 pokemon species in existence.

While the features of the phone and trainers calling you for a rematch have been removed, there is now the pokenav which will keep track of trainers you've battled and will display a flashing square that looks like a pokeball next to there name to show they want a rematch. The berries have also been improved from the last generation. Now the player has the ability to plant and grow there own berries so you can make the decision of which berries you want and which you don't, the variety of berries has also been increased. Berries now have a new function aswell, you can make pokemon candy from them known as pokeblocks. Pokeblocks are part of another new feature of the Ruby and Sapphire games called pokemon contests. In these contests your chosen pokemon is pitted against 3 others in 4 different ranks of competitions in the categories of beauty, coolness, toughness, intelligence and cuteness. Pokemon use moves to appeal to the judge and audience of the competition to score points. Moves now have another type aside from the ice fire and flying etc they now have contest type class aswell for beauty, cool, tough, cute and smart. Each contest type requires the players pokemon to have move types corresponding to the selected contest type. Some moves also have effects much like in battle but they may earn the user more points or try to make the opponents lose some of theirs.

While it's a bit of a letdown to see the day and night removed from the games, weather has been added. In certain areas of the map there may be occasional rain showers and new moves allow the user to change the weather in battle. Some pokemon gain an advantage from certain weather conditions. Pokemon also now have personalities called natures that have many effects varying from making them evolve and grow faster or slower to certain stats being raised faster or slower and even which berry flavors in pokeblocks the pokemon like or don't like. Another new feature is pokemon have special abilities ranging from changing the weather automatically to being invulnerable to certain status effects or making certain attack types more powerfull.

With the advent of decorating your house with trophies and pokemon dolls this game has taken it a step further by allowing you t have your own secret base with which you can decorate any way you like but they do have limited space. There are many secret5 base spots across Hoenn but to access them you need the move secret power, which can be learned by practically any pokemon and is usable outside of battle. Secret power is one of 4 TM moves usable outside of battle and there are also 8 HM moves in these games.

Overall the improvements in this game and the way they put the whole story together satisfies everything needed for a 3rd generation release of pokemon and for the first gameboy advance versions of pokemon. The past games have shown the ability to evolve beyond the expectations for the next generation and the Ruby and Sapphire versions have made this evolution seamlessly and are setting a high bar for the next evolution of the pokemon series.

Get the full article at GameSpot

]]> http://www.gamespot.com/pokemon-ruby-version/user-reviews/620989/platform/gba/ Wed, 05 Nov 2008 20:37:35 -0800 cornholio157 reviewed Pokemon Sapphire Version for the Game Boy Advance... http://www.gamespot.com/pokemon-sapphire-version/user-reviews/620988/platform/gba/ ...and gave it a 9.6!

With this being the third generation of pokemon there's a lot to expect and this being the first pokemon game for gameboy advance there's plenty of capability to deliver. With the enhanced graphics and color palette available to the gameboy advance you won't be disappointed.

As in all the pokemon games you choose your starter pokemon from the three basic types of fire, water and grass. As with every new generation of pokemon these starter pokemon are new and unique to the new region and are only attainable from the beginning of the game, so you can't collect them all alone unless you have 2 game boys and a link cable.

In the Ruby and Sapphire versions you are in the Hoenn region where your family just moved to but your dad is already here and he is the gym leader in the nearby pokemon gym. Much like the original Red and Blue versions your rival is your neighbor and a relative of the local pokemon professor who lives in your new home town. In this game the feature of choosing to play as either a male or female character is still available. Whether you choose to be the male or female character will change which house you live in and who your rival will be, your rival will always be the character of the opposite sex who you didn't choose to play as.

Just like in the past games the first gym you find won't be your first opportunity to earn a badge, this is actually your dads gym and you will be facing him last for the 8th badge. The world keeps a familiar look to it but unlike its predecessors the routes are numbered in the 100s starting with route 102. There is also the return of the criminal element in the form of a gang of pokemon trainers, only this time there are two opposing gangs. Depending on whether you play Ruby version or Sapphire version will determine who is on your side and who your enemy is. This also determines which ancient pokemon you are given a chance to capture in the game. The two pokemon on the covers of the games are available only in the game cover they appear on. For ruby version you'll be facing team magma and be after the ancient ground type groudon. And in sapphire you'll be facing team aqua and taking your chances on capturing the powerful ancient water pokemon kyogre.

There are many more differences between the two versions more than just what rare pokemon are available, but just like the original versions and gold/silver alike only certain species are captureable in each game version. Aswell as some are more common on one version than the other. These games also introduce a total of 135 new pokemon species with 262 species captureable in both versions. With the new pokemon brought by the se versions it makes the grand total of 386 pokemon species in existence.

While the features of the phone and trainers calling you for a rematch have been removed, there is now the pokenav which will keep track of trainers you've battled and will display a flashing square that looks like a pokeball next to there name to show they want a rematch. The berries have also been improved from the last generation. Now the player has the ability to plant and grow there own berries so you can make the decision of which berries you want and which you don't, the variety of berries has also been increased. Berries now have a new function aswell, you can make pokemon candy from them known as pokeblocks. Pokeblocks are part of another new feature of the Ruby and Sapphire games called pokemon contests. In these contests your chosen pokemon is pitted against 3 others in 4 different ranks of competitions in the categories of beauty, coolness, toughness, intelligence and cuteness. Pokemon use moves to appeal to the judge and audience of the competition to score points. Moves now have another type aside from the ice fire and flying etc they now have contest type class aswell for beauty, cool, tough, cute and smart. Each contest type requires the players pokemon to have move types corresponding to the selected contest type. Some moves also have effects much like in battle but they may earn the user more points or try to make the opponents lose some of theirs.

While it's a bit of a letdown to see the day and night removed from the games, weather has been added. In certain areas of the map there may be occasional rain showers and new moves allow the user to change the weather in battle. Some pokemon gain an advantage from certain weather conditions. Pokemon also now have personalities called natures that have many effects varying from making them evolve and grow faster or slower to certain stats being raised faster or slower and even which berry flavors in pokeblocks the pokemon like or don't like. Another new feature is pokemon have special abilities ranging from changing the weather automatically to being invulnerable to certain status effects or making certain attack types more powerfull.

With the advent of decorating your house with trophies and pokemon dolls this game has taken it a step further by allowing you t have your own secret base with which you can decorate any way you like but they do have limited space. There are many secret5 base spots across Hoenn but to access them you need the move secret power, which can be learned by practically any pokemon and is usable outside of battle. Secret power is one of 4 TM moves usable outside of battle and there are also 8 HM moves in these games.

Overall the improvements in this game and the way they put the whole story together satisfies everything needed for a 3rd generation release of pokemon and for the first gameboy advance versions of pokemon. The past games have shown the ability to evolve beyond the expectations for the next generation and the Ruby and Sapphire versions have made this evolution seamlessly and are setting a high bar for the next evolution of the pokemon series.

Get the full article at GameSpot

]]> http://www.gamespot.com/pokemon-sapphire-version/user-reviews/620988/platform/gba/ Sat, 01 Nov 2008 00:04:57 -0700 cornholio157 reviewed Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars for the Super Nintendo... http://www.gamespot.com/super-mario-rpg-legend-of-the-seven-stars/user-reviews/619444/platform/snes/ ...and gave it a 10.0!!!

To start off im reviewing Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars for the SNES. Many of you may not have heard of this game but if you have a working SNES and can find a copy it's defiantly worth checking out. Also for you Wii owners it is available for download on the Wiis virtual console.

Now to get into the game, it's published by square soft and is the first attempt (at least in my opinion) at a pre N64 3D game. The game is an action/puzzle RPG and features everyone favorite plumber Mario. Although this game starts out like many other classic Mario titles with princess toadstool being kidnapped by Bowser, it takes a turn in the totally opposite direction when you actually start the game.

In this game you will start put in Marios pad, also known as the pipe house. And immediately will be sent off to perform a task many of you are familiar with, to fight bowser and rescue the princess. The similarity ends when you fight bowser in the beginning of the game. Although this battle can be a bit confusing as your just getting used to the combat system which ill get into more details later, it is fairly straight forward or so it seems.

Not wanting to reveal too much of the story to you, after you defeat bowser the real story begins. You'll be slated to once again find the princess who's been thrown to another part of the world. And ultimately embark on your true quest to find the seven star pieces and defeat a character called smithy who's bent on taking over Mario's world.

Controls
The basic controls are quite simple. B to jump, A to talk to someone, X and Y outside of combat will open your menu. In the menu you have the options to view your inventory, use or discard items and equip weapons, armors and accessories. Also displayed are you current party members, there HP, the parties current FP or flower points, and how many coins you have.

Items
In this game you will encounter an unprecedented variety of items, for a Mario game that is. Some of the ever familiar one like coins and mushrooms will be making a comeback but with very different uses. There are items for healing your HP and recovering FP, as well as keys and other such items required to proceed further in the game. But I can't go into too much detail I don't want to spoil the whole game.

Weapons and Combat
Also on his journey Mario will find out his old tricks and tactics won't cut it against these advanced enemies. Marios default attack in this game is punching, AKA his unarmed attack. Every character will have there own unarmed attack and attack style unique to them. Some of there equip able weapons will reflect on there unarmed attack style as well as others will have different styles unique to each character. The basic combat screen has each character in your active party turned around facing you with 4 boxes circling their head to indicate its there move. These 4 boxes are labeled A, B, X and Y, sound familiar. Yes they are the 4 buttons on the SNES controller each with its own function. The A button will bring up you melee or physical attack which uses your default attack or an equipped weapon if you have one. The B button allows that character o initiate a retreat of the entire party with the run away option but be warned this doesn't always allow you to run and will pass your turn if it fails. The B button also allows a character to go into defense mode to protect them from damage. The X button will bring up your items menu where you can use items to heal your party and some that can be used against the enemy. And finally the Y button brings up the magic attack menu. This is where FP comes in, FP is a point system used to cast magic attacks but be careful as you can deplete your FP quickly if your not careful.

As well as having there own specific melee style attacks each character also has there own specific style of magic attacks. Every character come with one magic attack when they join your party, Marios default is jump. His other magic attack style is another classic Mario move shooting fire balls. Magic attacks can have devastating effectiveness against some enemies but beware that enemies also have weaknesses and resistances to certain types of magic.

Leveling
As you play the game and engage in battles your party members will gain experience points. As with many other games you will level up after you reach a certain amount of EXP. In this game leveling up not only increases the characters attack and defense stats but certain levels learn them new magic abilities. These new magic attacks will require progressively more FP but are also progressively stronger. As a bonus for leveling up you are faced with a decision of picking one of 3 options for a stat boost, you can choose attack stats, defense stats or HP.

This game also includes a feature called timed hits. This is when your character is attacking an enemy right at the moment of impact you press either the a button or y button depending on whether you used a melee or magic attack to cause a second hit for most melee attacks and some magic attacks but it always causes more damage to the enemy. It also works on the defensive end by hitting the B button when an enemy attack hits you causing either reduced or no damage.

There are many other features in this game but I cant get to them all, I don't want to tell you the whole game before you play it. And besides that my hand is cramping anyway.

Overall the game has a decent sized storyline for its time period, and an interesting and semi complex storyline at that. The combat is quite simple and you should have it mastered by the time you get to the first boss. There's also many hours of game play to be had from boss battles to mini games and puzzles to solve. Also as any Mario fan would expect out of a Mario game there's plenty of secrets to be had. But don't worry if you don't find them all it wont have an effect on the out come of the game. this game has an infinite replay value to me, and ive played it through countyless times and still never tire of it. So now that you know about it go find an old copy or borrow a friends if they have it, you could even download it on the Wii but however you get your hands on it go play it.

Get the full article at GameSpot

]]> http://www.gamespot.com/super-mario-rpg-legend-of-the-seven-stars/user-reviews/619444/platform/snes/ Sat, 20 Sep 2008 20:36:29 -0700 kittykatz5k reviewed Strong Bad's Cool Game for Attractive People Episode 2: Strong Badia the Free for the Wii... http://www.gamespot.com/strong-bads-cool-game-for-attractive-people-episo/user-reviews/608734/platform/wii/ ...and gave it a 8.5.

Story:
The King of Towns gone mad with power! Him and his Poopsmith dressed like a combine guard from Half-Life break into Strongbad's house waving around a new tax on checking emails! Placing Strongbad under house arrest until you can pay the absurd tax, you eventually break out and declare a revolution! Problem is with Free Country USA, everyone declares a revolution! Everybody starts claiming their own land as an independent country, which places a lot of land between Strongbadia and the King of Town's castle before you can get revenge on that power mad politician.

This overall sets up a much more solid, funnier story than the last game.

(Graphics is cut because it's the same basic style and look as the last game)

Gameplay:
With this new story comes a lot of changes to the gameplay. You'll still generally walk around talking to people, solving problems and puzzles, but that's just saying what a point and click is about. The plot is now a lot more strait forward, giving you no troubles finding out what you have to do, and the world is heavily effected by the story, right down to the risk style gameboard that replaces your map. With the objective a lot more clear, it overall feels a lot more fun to play, and the humor is a lot less all over the place.

Sound:
Sound has also had a nice improvement in the music at least. Each country has it's own background music, and who could hate Club Technochocolate? Overall though, same basic stuff as last game, lots of voice work, great stuff, yada yada.

Who wants this game?
This game feels a more accessible than last game to your average person. The plot truly drove the humor this time, and had a lot less to do with inside jokes. Not to say there wasn't a load of inside jokes. Really just check out homestarrunner.com and if you like them, you'll love this game.

Get the full article at GameSpot

]]> http://www.gamespot.com/strong-bads-cool-game-for-attractive-people-episo/user-reviews/608734/platform/wii/ Sat, 20 Sep 2008 20:08:12 -0700 kittykatz5k reviewed Strong Bad's Cool Game for Attractive People Episode 1: Homestar Ruiner for the Wii... http://www.gamespot.com/strong-bads-cool-game-for-attractive-people-episo/user-reviews/608727/platform/wii/ ...and gave it a 7.5.

Story:
Strong Bad checks his email like he does on an almost weekly basis to find a request about beating the snot out of Homestar. Sounds like your typical SBmail? Well, it is. For the first in what's going to be a series of episodes, we have a pretty standard way to start it, which feels appropriate. The game however is hardly about any beating of Homestars. What really becomes the issue is The Free Country USA Triannual Race to the End of the Race. In The Free Country USA Triannual Race to the End of the Race (I'll just call it the race from now on) contestants go through a series of weird obstacles to reach the finish line.

You're not able to sign up yet, so through point and click adventure gameplay, you must ruin Homestar at this event at any cost. The story is well constructed, given you won't see anything too out of the ordinary in the world of Free Country USA, and the humor is really funny. Well, if you have seen homestarrunner that is. This is FILLED with references, and this game knows what it's target audience is. If you've never heard of homestarrunner before, why are you reading my review? Further more, check them out at homestarrunner.com.

Graphics:
The graphics are fantastic for a downloadable game. The look of the simple weekly flash show is translated extremely well to 3d and while it looks simple, that's just kinda how homestarrunner is. There's really not much to say here, it's a 3d bright and colorful cartoon. being put up to downloadable 300 block wiiware standards, it's great looking.

Gameplay:
The point and click genre is one I'm happy to see being revived by Telltale Games. Nothing in this game really gets boring, possibly because it's not a long game, but also because of how much there is to see and do. This first game really is about exploring Free Country USA and you get a lot to explore. Create your own Teen Girl Squad is a fun little side job in which you get more to do in it by exploring, Snake Boxer 5 is ok, but overall feels more like a joke than a game I want to bother playing for a while, and searching for your main objective will often have you stumble upon some fun side items.

The main quest is what you're here for though, I think. Talking to people doesn't feel like a chore in the majority of cases thanks to some very funny and well written dialog. The story is amusing and has a few big twist to it. Only once was I ever stuck wandering aimlessly looking for what to do, and that didn't last too long. It really does feel really well built and thought out.

Sound:
It's as simplistic flash as it's graphics, which isn't that bad of a thing. Music is simple, but that's just how homestarrunner is, and it's never too much in the way. All voice samples are obviously done my Matt and Missy, and sound as great as the show. Really, there isn't much to discuss. It doesn't stand out as amazing, though there is a lot of voice work, but doesn't seem bad in anyway, it just serves it's role.

Who wants this game?
Are you a homestarrunner fan? If so, get this game. It is fantastic and if it was a toon, would be their best toon yet. Not one? Then you probably want to pass on this. Haven't heard of them yet? Than visit them!

www.homestarrunner.com

Get the full article at GameSpot

]]> http://www.gamespot.com/strong-bads-cool-game-for-attractive-people-episo/user-reviews/608727/platform/wii/ Sun, 07 Sep 2008 21:21:36 -0700 kittykatz5k reviewed Comix Zone for the Genesis... http://www.gamespot.com/comix-zone/user-reviews/605450/platform/genesis/ ...and gave it a 7.5.

Story:
You're Sketch Turner, a comic book writer with a degree in kicking ass. One day a lightning storm strikes your apartment and the villain of the comic pops out of the comic book you were working on, and throws you into the comic in an attempt to kill you at your own job. It's silly, yes, but this is actually a bigger story than most games at the time had. I mean comparing this to what? A fat guy with a huge moustache flying machines around taking emeralds and trapping small woodland creatures?

No only is it a pretty good plot for the time, but it's one of the better plots of the entire beat em up genre. It's told through comic book style text bubbles as you move along and gets your point and objective across.

Graphics:
This is one of the best looking games on the genesis. It's pure detail everywhere really defines the comic book style, and none of it ever gets in the way. The animations are smooth and the environments are varied from sewers to mountain tops to all sorts of places.

This is a game very dedicated to it's style and it shows. Often, a giant hand will come down and draw a creature in for you to fight. Occasionally you're rip the pages in the heat of the action or break the divider between panels. This is a fantastic example of great graphics playing into gameplay.

Gameplay:
Let me get this out of the way now. This is a 1 button fighter. You only get 1 button for attacks, no kick and punch button. With that said, you'd be a fool to believe you can get away with mashing. Each direction in addition to the attack button changes how you attack, and you should learn the combos well, because the difference between a well executed combo and mashing the attack button will become essential later. The game in addition to beating up baddies has quite a few puzzles to it. This and the 3 item system in which you can pick up items ranging from a throwing knife to your pet rat helps it feel a lot deeper than your average beat em up.

But it carries a major problem. Your health bar is your health bar for the entire level, which each level consist of 2 pages of a comic book. You'll often only find 1 or 2 items to gain some health back, and this is troubled by one of the most weird additions to a beat em up ever. You loose health as you attack inanimate objects. True, my hand would hurt too after punching a solid rock or wooden box, but this addition turns the entire thing into a giant puzzle. You could die just from trying to break a door so rather than thinking how you're going to beat up the next wave of badguys, you focus on "do I have the items I need?" or "will I have enough health to get past this next part?" because the game will constantly present you with situations where you will loose health no matter what because this door needs to be broken down and you don't have an explosive item to do it for you as you used it on that last boss.

I also think given the fact that it IS a beat em up, it could have used a multiplayer. The 2 just go hand in hand.

Sound:
I dunno what to think of this. There's several music tracks, but they all sound the same thanks to that hard rock "neeeeeoooow!" style genesis sound that really gives me a headache after an hour of it. It's in every track for it and it makes any tunes for it unmemorable, just not the kind of stuff you can whistle to. Sound effects however, are really well done. Punches, voice clips, smashes and wacks are all well presented and perfectly in place.

Who wants this game?
If you're a fan of beat em ups, this is one of the better of them in existence. That being said, beat em ups is a kind of mindless genre many don't like, but thanks to it's additions, it added a nice element for the other kinds of gamers. Perhaps however a bit too much of it. This really is a great game, it's just... flawed. Worth the wii points at least.

Get the full article at GameSpot

"kittykatz5k reviewed Comix Zone for the Genesis..." was posted by kittykatz5k on Sun, 07 Sep 2008 21:21:36 -0700
]]> http://www.gamespot.com/comix-zone/user-reviews/605450/platform/genesis/ Tue, 29 Jul 2008 10:08:09 -0700 kittykatz5k reviewed Pokemon Pearl Version for the DS... http://www.gamespot.com/pokemon-pearl-version/user-reviews/594808/platform/ds/ ...and gave it a 7.5.

Before I begin note: I have not played a pokemon since silver, so I may claim some features are new that actually are not.

Story:
This is the lowest point of the game. I will flat out say it, this story sucks. The legendary pokemon that were once just mythical birds or clones of ancient pokemon are now considered freakin' gods! There are temples in their honor and everyone talks about how these god pokemon created everything. NO! That is not what a pokemon is supposed to be! I found mewtwo's story cool, he was a clone of an ancient pokemon who destroyed his lab and ran away as a powerful psychic. But no, now they're gods who created the universe, I should not even be able to catch that in a pokeball!

A paragraph and I haven't even talked about the story. Team Galactic is out and off their rocker talking crazy cultist talk, causing trouble where ever they go. While they're supposed to sound crazy, they're the most normal NPCs in this world. Every NPC you find is a walking sign in that they will only talk about stuff that makes no sense or will be a blatantly obvious hint as to what you're supposed to do. Due to this, every town and everything in this world will feel stupid. I liked the layout of the world, but the people in it just don't make me believe it at all, which is kinda important for an RPG.

Graphics:
I get a headache just trying to think if what I just saw was really good or really bad. It's a 2d grid movement classic RPG, but it's 3d in a way. Sprites look really simple and pretty dated, this is no Mother 3, but the 3d looks nice blended with the 2d. I especially love the depth you get on climbing up a mountain. Makes the game feel a bit better despite it's old designs on the RPG world. It's also nice that they brought back night and day, now causing buildings to light up and backgrounds in battle to change. There's a good deal of little touches, but the overall look of the world looks like it needs an update, at least on character art.

Gameplay:
If you like pokemon before hand, you'll love this. If you didn't, then yeah. At a glance, it looks like the same pokemon, and it basically is, but there's a lot and I mean a lot of hidden depth. I can't even begin to list the small changes to the game that make it feel so much better. My 10 or so battles with people have actually been entertaining, where as back then I got bored and watched people just mewtwo spam. Online also works really well. Voice adds a lot to the online and I finally got to settle some scores of people. There's also a lot of secrets to find, and about a dozen legendaries, even if I do hate them, as well as

I do have 2 big problems though. My first is that while there's well over 400 pokemon, they lock all but 150 of them from normal capture, and from any capture until you pretty much beat the elite 4. This makes having 400 pokemon in the first place really redundant and ruins the already extremely poor singleplayer portion of the game. My second problem is that lots and lots of new pokemon are just flat out poor design. Some get no uniqueness to them, and a lot are just replacements of common pokemon, seeing as the developers want to limit what pokemon you can find from the start to 150.

Smaller complaints include too much slow text in combat and not enough use of the returning night and day system.

Sound:
I can't complain about the music in the world. There's a good mix of new tracks that are very nice and suiting of the world. It really drags me into the environment until I realize again the citizens are all walking signs and don't know how to raise pokemon at all. The sound effects during attacks are also nice, and new pokemon battle cries sound nice, though they need to update the old pokemon battle cries as they sound completely out of place.

My main complaint is that in battles, there's no variety. There's your 1 time battles like gym leaders that have their own music, elite 4 music, ect. But all wild pokemon, your most common encounter, have music that just got annoying to me. Trainer battle music also got on my nerves after a while. Overall though, good music.

Who wants this game?
Fans of pokemon who want a newer, better, and online battle system. I want to keep loving pokemon, and I still love the old ones, but gamefreak seems to have forgotten they were making an RPG, and focused almost purely on the battle system. It works as the first online pokemon, but fails as an RPG.

Get the full article at GameSpot

"kittykatz5k reviewed Pokemon Pearl Version for the DS..." was posted by kittykatz5k on Tue, 29 Jul 2008 10:08:09 -0700
]]> http://www.gamespot.com/pokemon-pearl-version/user-reviews/594808/platform/ds/ Sun, 13 Jul 2008 15:47:52 -0700 The_Great_Woggy reviewed Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots for the PlayStation 3... http://www.gamespot.com/metal-gear-solid-4-guns-of-the-patriots/user-reviews/590787/platform/ps3/ ...and gave it a 10.0!!!

For people who never played a metal gear game before this one, don't play it before you played any of the others as you'll be missing the MG factor.

Anyway this game is probably one of the most epic and greatest game I or anyone else has ever played, The action starts straight off from the beginning and doesn't end except for a brief stealth period in the europe stage. The story is pure brilliance it surprised me alot as alot does go on in its lengthy cinematics (which you can skip) the whole animation pyshics, soundtrack and the whole shabaz is amazing you can even customize the guns which I found great.

To be honest there's too much I can mention to praise this game I've got not even one bad point for this game although I want to play a game involving the story after sons of liberty and before guns of the patriot as alot seems to of happened between them.

All I can say now is YOU NEED TO BUY THIS GAME.

Get the full article at GameSpot

]]> http://www.gamespot.com/metal-gear-solid-4-guns-of-the-patriots/user-reviews/590787/platform/ps3/ Tue, 08 Jul 2008 00:53:54 -0700 kittykatz5k reviewed Gyrostarr for the Wii... http://www.gamespot.com/gyrostarr/user-reviews/589180/platform/wii/ ...and gave it a 4.5.

Story is cut because it has no story. It probably would have indirectly helped the game a little to have had a story though. Right now, every enemy is an indistinguishable shape with no real design to it, and every level is a pointless tunnel ending and leading into another pointless tunnel.

Graphics:
Looking at this game in a trailer, you might think "Holy crap, this is one amazing looking game for wiiware!" and it is, for the first 5 levels. You see, this is where a complete lack of artistic talent hurts. It has some pretty awesome effects, the framerate is stable, the thing can get very fast paced at times. Problem is, there's nothing to see here within all of that. There's no variety, for pretty much all 50 stages, you'll be seeing the same thing over and over again. They give names to all the levels but I have to wonder why when there's no way to distinguish level 3 from level 33.

Gameplay:
*Sigh*
It's not that this game is a bad idea, it's that it was poorly made. There's no hidden depth to it and it's levels don't actually change all that much from one another. I was in pain trying to finish this game. There's 50 levels, but not one of them does anything interesting or fun. No boss fights every 5th level, no themes or crazy stuff to see, just a slowly increasing difficulty from level to level.

Speaking of that, the difficulty is a major pain. First 15 levels will be so easy you can do it in your sleep, and it doesn't get that much harder. Eventually, really late on, you'll feel the speed and hardness, but no one wants to play that far in. I was bored out of my mind trying to get that far. Also before I end this, I would like to say sorry. I did not play this multiplayer. There is no party I'm hosting where I will think this game is a good idea to load up.

Sound:
One sentence will sum this up:
There's only 3 pieces of music I could count, absolutely none of those 3 are memorable in the least.

But summing it up like that isn't very nice of me. The music is so stuck in it's techno that none of it is memorable. I can't recall any of it and I played this game way too much for my own good. The sound effects are standard at best, but I guess work. If I could take out all that music and replace it with, say, the geometry wars sound track, I think I might actually like the game a lot more.

Who wants this game?
Well, I guess if you look at that trailer and think "Oh man, me and my friends would love this!" and also think you can stand playing through this with no real big twist or turns, enjoy! For those of us who want a deeper game, there's much better ways to spend 700 points.

Get the full article at GameSpot

"kittykatz5k reviewed Gyrostarr for the Wii..." was posted by kittykatz5k on Tue, 08 Jul 2008 00:53:54 -0700
]]> http://www.gamespot.com/gyrostarr/user-reviews/589180/platform/wii/