JulesMclain's GameSpot Friend's Reviews JulesMclain's GameSpot Friend's Reviews JulesMclain's GameSpot Friend's Reviews en-us Copyright (c)1995-2013 CBS Interactive. All rights reserved. http://www.gamespot.com 20 Tue, 21 May 2013 16:14:57 -0700 GameSpot JulesMclain's GameSpot Friend's Reviews http://img.gamespot.com/gamespot/shared/promos/misc/gs_logo.gif http://www.gamespot.com 135 40 Mon, 04 Apr 2011 05:35:31 -0700 Foolz3h reviewed Klonoa for the Wii... http://www.gamespot.com/klonoa/user-reviews/761108/platform/wii/ ...and gave it a 7.5.

Klonoa is a "Dream Traveller". What this means is he's sort of like a cat with long ears which he uses to fly short distances. Which means he's something like a chicken. A cute, cartoon chicken that looks nothing like a chicken. He has a Pac-Man baseball cap and is really quite adorable.

His companion is a floating water balloon called Hewpoe who talks like a desperately adorable Macaulay Culkin when he still had some innocence about him, and plays with Klonoa when you stand around doing nothing. It's only a few hours into the game before Klonoa's grandfather is killed in brutal fashion by Joker (not from Batman) in a violent terrorist bombing. He should surely have been vaporised, but luckily he's still alive.

In great pain; slowly dying, but alive. He survives just long enough for the clichéd last words. Klonoa is in tears. Adorable, GameCubey tears. Hewpoe apologises in his childish voice, and then it's back on the road again, and it won't be long before the story becomes even more insane. It's a wonderful mixture of cutesy graphics and absurd, hilarious and totally out of place darkness. All set to upbeat electronic tunes that set the mood nicely; or do the opposite! Either way, really. It works.

This is lucky because the game starts off slow. The level design is very by the numbers, though it's always engaging due to the pseudo-3D which later on in the game leads to large, expansive levels where in the background you can see where you have been, or where you are going. It works wonderfully as an aesthetic, but as a gameplay mechanic it is never fully explored.

In fact the best designed levels towards the end of the game feature it the least, instead focusing on accurate and tense jumping puzzles where you might find yourself jumping to and from platforms just small enough for Klonoa to stand on, while several enemies are converging on you-but that can be used to your advantage for another way that Klonoa sets itself apart is that Hewpoe (or Klonoa's ring depending on your perspective) sucks up enemies and fills them with air. He can then use the puffy enemy as a jumping pad to execute a double jump which can of course be followed by Klonoa flying with his ears.

It's a simple three step program that'll have you drunk with fun when it's taken advantage of, but this is far too infrequent. The game's difficulty curve is so lethargic that by the time you do reach the challenge of the last few levels you may well not be prepared! Okay, that's something of an exaggeration, but the rest of the game does almost feel like a tutorial for the climax of events. If there were another five hours of gameplay on the level of the last few levels then Klonoa would probably be regarded as a classic rather than a cult classic.

However all is forgiven when one plays the bonus level. It takes the excellent mechanic of sucking in enemies and uses it every way it possibly can. You'll be jumping from formation of flying enemy to formation of flying enemy and all done in a life or death situation above pits of seething lava. One missed jump, or one missed enemies and you'll be restarting from the previous checkpoint. It's head and shoulders above everything else in the game, and does in a way rub in the lack of ambition present elsewhere.

Sometimes the controls don't feel entirely responsive; but it's somewhat hard to tell whether that's the fault of the game or the Wii-remote. When executing a jump, sucking in an enemy then jumping again and gliding you're pressing a, b, a, then holding a and it just doesn't feel fantastic on the Wii-remote if you're playing with the Nunchuk. This is probably somewhat due to the fault of the controller; if these were on face buttons it'd probably be a lot harder to mess up, but now and again you do feel as if you're not getting the timing you should.
Of course you can play with a classic or GameCube controller, or with the Wii-remote held SNES style. But because I'm cheap the classic controller is out of the question, plus the length of GameCube controllers make them rather impractical, especially now that everything is cordless so you may well not have your Wii set up close to the TV, and I don't want to develop arthritis so I'm afraid I was stuck with the Wii-remote/Nunchuk combo.

Oh, and the voice actingéif you've got a sense of humour you'll love it. Its ridiculousness fits perfectly with the story, but if you're one of those cold hearted bastards who hates everything corny and over the top then you'll probably want to cut off your ears. I, on the other hand turned the volume up.

My condolences to Balue. Lephise is cold.

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"Foolz3h reviewed Klonoa for the Wii..." was posted by Foolz3h on Mon, 04 Apr 2011 05:35:31 -0700
]]> http://www.gamespot.com/klonoa/user-reviews/761108/platform/wii/ Tue, 19 Oct 2010 05:19:10 -0700 Foolz3h reviewed Yakuza 3 for the PlayStation 3... http://www.gamespot.com/yakuza-3/user-reviews/741408/platform/ps3/ ...and gave it a 8.0.

Yakuza 3 is a Japanese video game. Japan is a country in Asia, which is the world's largest and most populous continent. Therefore the game's voice actors are Japanese, but luckily SEGA (the publisher of the game) had the foresight to translate the text and menus into English for its European and American release, even though some European countries do not speak English as their first language, it is understood that many speak it as a second. The fruits of globalisation. There are English subtitles for the Japanese vocals so that you can understand them, if you have not been globalised as much as SEGA has.
Not wanting expose Japanese culture SEGA such as hostess bars and mahjong, a game virtually unheard of outside of Japan, content such as this has been cut. Many people have compared it to the cult classic Shenmue, but it is nothing like Shenmue. It is a commercially successful franchise and a big title in Japan. It is their GTA. People have also compared it to GTA, but it is not like GTA. Yakuza 3 is an action RPG, not a sand box.
There are no random encounters, but you gain EXP and money or items from each fight you win, which can be used to upgrade Kazama Kiryu, the main character. For each fight you lose you win a game over screen, from which you can conveniently retry, reload, or quit. Kazama is a former member of the yakuza. Yakuza is the Japanese equivalent of the Mafia, but being Japanese they are obviously much cooler. Though The Sopranoes is a good show, and The Godfather and Scarface are classics of cinema.
Nevertheless Kazama is no longer in the Yakuza. Instead he has started running an orphanage with Haruka (a young girl; nothing suss) who has appeared in previous games. Where the other orphans have come from I am not sure. Naturally he gets called back to the Yakuza and the story begins. The story is very well told with great cutscenes and excellent voice acting and writing. It is very dark and funny. The story is one of the best parts of the game. Another great part of the game is the graphics. They are represented in full HD and are technically of high quality with sharp textures, and a wonderfully accurate city of Tokyo. Okinawa does not seem as accurate, but I have not been. Nor have I been to Tokyo. Nevertheless it appears to be accurate, as being a gamer I have intimate knowledge of Japan. I was practically in Shibuya when I played TWEWY, which is another Japanese RPG.
The gameplay consists of RPG style fights, only instead of selecting actions from a menu, it plays out like an action game. You press square for a normal attack, triangle for a special attack, x to dodge, and circle to throw someone. L1 defends, R1 locks onto your opponent. The left analogue stick controls Kazama's movements, and R1 the camera. It functions well. You learn different moves as you progress through the game, including special ones that require the "heat" bar to be partially, or completely filled.
The soundtrack is minimal in its approach without much background music. This works well in creating the realistic atmosphere in Tokyo, because there is no background music in Tokyo in real life, or so I am told. It is very realistic. The game must be played with a PS3 control, and supports the vibration function of the Dualshock 3.
While playing through the main story you can do side-quests. As I said, it is an RPG. For doing these side quests you gain experience and money or items meaning that they are much like the fights in the game, though they are also not of a random nature. They are amusing. They often conclude with fights.
In summary, Yakuza 3 is a great game, as indicated from my score of 8.0 which according to GameSpot means the game is great. The gameplay is good, as are the graphics and the sound. But special mention to the story, that is very entertaining. You will be playing to find out what happens next. I highly recommend that you buy Yakuza 3 if you enjoy video games, because it a video game of the highest order.

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"Foolz3h reviewed Yakuza 3 for the PlayStation 3..." was posted by Foolz3h on Tue, 19 Oct 2010 05:19:10 -0700
]]> http://www.gamespot.com/yakuza-3/user-reviews/741408/platform/ps3/ Sat, 10 Apr 2010 00:11:46 -0700 Foolz3h reviewed Batman: Arkham Asylum for the PlayStation 3... http://www.gamespot.com/batman-arkham-asylum/user-reviews/716526/platform/ps3/ ...and gave it a 8.5.

Batman battlesémans

I am not a fan of Batman. I have not even seen the Dark Knight. The only Batman comic I have read was a recent one involving a penguin, a hypocritical policeman-and not Batman. Well maybe he was there hanging upside down in someone's closet, but I didn't really notice him. It wasn't very enjoyable. It was very gruff, but not very noir. However because I am a modern gamer and I saw that Batman was scoring 10s everywhere so I had to get it. That and the fact it was $30. Australian dollars. Which is about $10 American dollars so it was really cheap!

I was expecting it to be another GTAIV. Great production values, crap game. At first it seemed like it might be. There was some very well produced, but long winded introduction doing Half-Life 2 cutscenes better than Half-Life 2. (Which admittedly isn't hard.) Joker wasn't as likeable as Jack Nicholson. Then all of a sudden Joker esc apes (what a surprise) and Batman jumps through a window to chase after him. You might think jumping through windows is one of Bat's superpowers, but considering he never does it again I'll call it a fluke.

The combat began. Press square. And sometimes triangle. That's all there is to it! The combo system is pretty much useless early on to, as timing your attacks is not very useful when you can do a similar amount of damage by button mashing. Which is what the whole system is based around. Oh, but sometimes there are more advanced enemies where you have to press another button once before you start button mashing, so it's not all bad. And to be fair, it's kinda fun, but such a simple system really bit the game in the Batcave in terms of set pieces and bosses. As awesome as it would in theory be to beat up one of the many supervillains you're chasing after, the simple fact is it would suck in practice. Hit square in time-game goes into slow motion-maybe hit circle if necessary; doesn't sound like much of a boss battle does it? And when you are carefully timing your attacks the slo-mo can be very disorientating; thus ruining your timing if you don't want to button mash.

So maybe it's understandable that 90% of all the boss battles consist of you fighting against some body builder with his spine coming out of his back. Sometimes you get to fight two at once! Talk about variety! Yes, that is as awesome as it sounds. Which is not very awesome-though it does sound awesome what with the fantastic sound effects and music. Looks great too. Except for the pustules. That's just unnecessary detail.

Hell the first boss you fight ends with the poor guy having a migraine attack and fainting. Speaking of fainting; what with Batman being a gallant hero and all he cannot kill anyone. But on the bright side he can give them brain damage, make them paralytics, and lock them up in a hell hole for the rest of their lives. But maybe he's just not capable of killing them. Batman's super powers consist of staring coldly, and shouting "WHERE ARE THE DRUGS?!" in a deep voice. Which disappointingly he never shouted.

Okay this sounds really negative-but hell the start of the game was really negative. It was kinda fun, but never really hit its stride. Then I saw a sculpture. Batman likes to shoot sculptures then sit on top of them, biding time before he floats down booting a henchman in their face then suffocating them in a matter of milliseconds before he flies away again. Oh yeah, stealth baby! All of a sudden instead of button mashing I was flying around kicking people, planting explosive traps (I thought shrapnel could kill people even if it is a small explosion! But maybe Batman is using super explosiveséwhich should logically kill more people!) and setting up traps as elaborate as the joker's whole persona. You thought that simile was bad? Play the game.

The stealth is wonderful, and just gets better and better as you go along. There's just one problem with it. There's just not enough. The game seems to like its variety. One moment you're ridding a room of 10 henchmen through stealth, then next you're beating them all up, and the next you're fighting some poor schizophrenic who just wants you to hug him or give him some Prozac. Maybe both. I'm all for variety, but except for the stealth, none of the other aspects quite go far enough to do anything but remind you that you could be profanity stealthing people to dea---err---unconsciousness.

Which leaves the game with one other major thing it got absolutely right, and never deviated from: exploration and detail. There are riddles to solve (which aren't really riddles) trophies to find (which you wouldn't want to add to your cabinet) and messages left by a deranged fat man (not from Thomas the Tank Engine). And finding them is a blast. You'll enjoy scouring every little patch of the game for these prizes because it's also pretty and atmospheric, and there's a real sense of satisfaction in tracking them all down. Well, there would be if you didn't accidentally pick up an item that revealed where all of them are on the map that you cannot turn off so that you immediately know where everything is! Ugh. Oh, and if you die, they also like to tell you while Joker mocks you, exactly why you did and how to not die. Now, this seems a little patronizing. Especially when Batman is the world's greatest detective.

Then again, he quips at one point that: 'it pays to be prepared'. It sure does! Imagine how much time he would have saved if he'd actually taken all his gadgets with him when he first got to the Batcave. He could have stopped Joker in a matter of seconds! So many less people would have died. Well at least when he flies off at the end after another supervillain he'll have everything he needs.

WHERE IS THE SPECTACLE???

It's quite clear that the devs are huge fans of Metroid and Metal Gear Solid. The item collecting, and upgrade progression follows the Metroid path. It doesn't quite do it as well, though. In Metroid you have to find your equipment. Sure it's kinda silly in and of itself (and makes no sense), but it's a much better gameplay mechanic and gives you more satisfaction than "I advanced the plot far enough to be given this item so that I can advance it further." As for Metal Gear Solid two words: Scarecrow. They're not quite as good as Metal Gear Solid's moments of madness, but boy are they pretty! Pretty, fun and overall nicely paced. I won't say anything more because that'll ruin the surprise. Oh, and they also like The Darkness. There's a famous scene in the Scarecrow parts that is much like a famous scene in The Darkness. And like that famous scene in the darkness it's really not all that great. And unlike The Darkness instead of repeating graffiti, they repeat Easter eggs. It might have been nicer to the dev team include photos of more than a few people. Egotistical bastards!

But as I said earlier, once you've made your way through an area and built up a nice bit of momentum and you've psyched yourself up for a boss battle you don't want to fight a bunch of henchmen instead. Once again, though, I understand this is the fault of the battle system-but it just makes its flaws all the more annoying. Hell a stealth boss battle would have been FREAKING awesome! And no, scarecrow doesn't count. What were the lights about by the way? Seriously.

Maybe it makes sense, but as I said I wasn't a batman fan. Now I almost am! They nailed the atmosphere of Batman wonderfully. Well, as far as I'm aware. But going by Batman films and other comic books, they did a wonderful job. At first I didn't like the hammy voice acting, and the stupid and offensive morality-but then I realised something. The supervillains were all sympathetic characters! They were all a bunch of mentally ill people who couldn't cope with the world, and became supervillains so that they could, just as Batman became a superhero. Hell, most of them seem like a bunch of nice guys! Even Zsasz who would be right at home in something like I Heart Huckabees. And that would've made the film so much more awesome. He'd slit their throats and they'd bleed to death wondering if they were actually dying. So cool!

All the non-super characters seemed quite unsympathetic to me. They were all vengeful (and without as much reason as the super-characters) egotistical, selfish and un-empathetic douchebags. And of course the game dealt swiftly in the easiest way possible with any moral dilemmas. There are some normal people doing bad things in the game, but very luckily they are killed off so Batman doesn't have to make any tough judgments. Except for that Arkham guy which the game leaves hanging (not literally, which would've been a good way to kill him off!) and once again drops the ball when there could be an awesome climax. I ran all the way to where the guy should've run off to try and make me join him in his conquest, hoping that there'd be some awesome confrontation. There was not. I was just meant to scan something and get a trophy.

But you know what? I think I could get into this whole comic book thing. Unless like Blackhawks it's really just a well put together propaganda piece encouraging children to join the military, or help coerce their older brothers into doing so. God that comic makes me so angry! Where's that damn Titan? I'm coming for you Obama!

I understand you probably want a satisfying climax to this review, but I'm gonna make like a Batman and not give you one.

é.

é


WHERE ARE THE DRUGS???

Fine, there you go. Looks like I'm a better person than he is (probably a better superhero too!). Oh, and there's like a bunch of fan service consisting of profiles and interviews (which could have been better used to build up a battle with each of the characters-but considering there was never really a battle-their not always great placement wasn't too bad) and on top of that on the menu screen you can perv on Bat's manly pectorals.

Now excuse me while I go ruin a criminal's life in the name of justice. Or just have sex with Robin. (Where the hell was he? No wonder Bats acted so cold and lonely.)

N.B. I know I have not mentioned the challenge mode. This is because I have not yet played it. The internet was out, and Sony wanted to brick---I mean update my phat PS3 so I've had to postpone playing it for the moment. This is why you shouldn't make it compulsory to sign in to play a single player mode! It sounds pretty awesome by most accounts, and maybe exactly what I felt was lacking! Still, I liked it a lot all the same.

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"Foolz3h reviewed Batman: Arkham Asylum for the PlayStation 3..." was posted by Foolz3h on Sat, 10 Apr 2010 00:11:46 -0700
]]> http://www.gamespot.com/batman-arkham-asylum/user-reviews/716526/platform/ps3/ Sat, 21 Nov 2009 02:30:22 -0800 Foolz3h reviewed Metroid Prime for the GameCube... http://www.gamespot.com/metroid-prime/user-reviews/693759/platform/gamecube/ ...and gave it a 9.6!

Years have past since I last played Metroid Prime, despite it being one of my favourite games of all time. Years have past since last I read Fahrenheit 451 despite it being one of my favourite books of all time. So why on earth would I be silly enough to try and compare the two? Well, I don't really have an answer. But I'm going to try anyway!

Both Metroid Prime and Fahrenheit 451 start off with an alien and uncomfortable encounter. Samus' ship crashes and she is trapped on a hostile world, while Guy Montag meets a girl unlike any he's seen before and leaves him feeling lost and alone. From this point on both Metroid Prime and Fahrenheit 451 unravel at a fast pace.

Samus must escape the planet, while Guy must escape society-but come on, this is a rather flimsy similarity as far as plot goes. However it is still valid. What is important, though, is storytelling and pacing. As I said before both are fast paced, with Fahrenheit 451 lurching through the pages with thick language and poetic sentence structure where in some places the writing could virtually be split up into lines-wait, did I just say thick language? That can't be fast! And it's not, in fact the mood is one of a slow death on a hot humid day where everyone is dripping with sweat and without the energy to move. Yet somehow through this intrusive atmosphere it moves quickly, because it forces you to keep reading with totalitarian determination.

In Metroid Prime you feel the need to rocket through the levels, but the lush scenery and ancient architecture will slow you down just so you can take in, and then you'll move back and forth through it as you search ever nook and cranny for something you've missed. Hell, Samus' slow walking speed forces you to move slowly, so that you have no excuse but to take anything in, even if the urge to rush became too great.

The characters in Metroid Prime are dead. They're long gone and remembered only through ancient writings and the effect they've had on the environment, through their buildings, or the way they've survived the many predatory animals and even plants. Yet they all fit in this world safely; they're a part of it: they're aliens on an alien world. Yet Samus is just an intruder; another uninvited guest.

After the realisation Clarisse gives Montag (the previously mentioned girl) suddenly he too is an intruder and he moves about the suddenly alien world with caution and not just the intention to survive it; but to somehow find happiness there too, or perhaps, escape it.

And just as things are looking up for Samus she finds another group of intruders: the space pirates. They, like her, are uninvited guests, only they don't want to leave, they want to stay and pillage the world, and probably create a few metroids in the process! So suddenly she has a reason to stay.

But once again, we're getting a little bugged down in the narratives. This shouldn't be what this is about. Metroid Prime and Fahrenheit 451 are both told through their environment. In Fahrenheit 451 the harshest places of all are those that should be the safest; houses, with wall-sized televisions playing soap operas, and the constant paranoia of having hidden something in what should be a sanctuary pushes it even further away from being one-or perhaps makes it all the more important to hold on to.

Then he meets Faber who invites him into his house, which is safe, which is a sanctuary-but there's still fear. All the paintings and books and sculptures can't be hidden forever, and there's always a sense that no matter what, no matter how hard they fight, they cannot win.

In Metroid Prime the more you explore the lush natural world, the more you come across the relics of the long dead chozo world, and the deeper you venture into the space pirate's phazon mine, the more similarities you can draw between the two; both perhaps should never have been here in the first place; and both will never be here forever. And Shutting down a mine is one thing, but how could you ever win against the space pirates?

But still, there is no safety in the phazon mines, with every grey, depressing metal wall hiding behind it danger so that you don't even quite feel like an intruder; no you're a fugitive-it's you who should be here, not them! But they'll try and run you out of town anyway.

But in the ruins the opposite is true where you are an intruder that shouldn't be there, but you are not being ruthlessly hunted. But still there isn't quite safety like there should be amongst ancient carved stone. You're there because you have to be, and the sooner you're gone the better.

And both narratives end with destruction. In Fahrenheit 451 his fears are realised and everything is destroyed, in Metroid Prime the mining operation is shut down, and the Chozo are already dead. Yet both narratives end with hope. In Fahrenheit 451 it is for art and for humanity, but in Metroid prime, ironically, it is for the space pirates.

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"Foolz3h reviewed Metroid Prime for the GameCube..." was posted by Foolz3h on Sat, 21 Nov 2009 02:30:22 -0800
]]> http://www.gamespot.com/metroid-prime/user-reviews/693759/platform/gamecube/ Fri, 02 Jan 2009 23:40:18 -0800 Foolz3h reviewed Prince of Persia: The Two Thrones for the PC... http://www.gamespot.com/prince-of-persia-the-two-thrones/user-reviews/636219/platform/pc/ ...and gave it a 8.0.

I received Prince of Persia: the Two Thrones for free thanks to the good people at Next Publishing. I wasn't looking forward to playing it, but when my World of Warcraft subscription ran out I thought, what the hell. As the intro rolled my scepticism grew. The story sucked, the voice acting sucked, and then, as the actual game began, the gameplay sucked. But then at some point it hit me like an epileptic fit: the story and the voice acting were suddenly so bad they were good-listening to the Prince's emotional rants about his destroyed city and his father was hilarious, and so was watching him transform into the Dark Prince, which in its effort to be dramatic, ended up looking like an orgasm and an epileptic fit rolled into one. In fact, now that I think about it, it was soon after he first transformed that it hit me-soon after the twist (and I use the term loosely) that revealed what the Dark Prince really was, I realised how absolutely hilarious the game was. And that made the inner-dialogue between the two all the better.
I must admit I warmed to the gameplay a little quicker. It's linear, it doesn't require much thought, but there's a strong sense of exhilaration and thrill to it. Sure I thought it was a little un-inspired and boring to begin with, but soon after combat was introduced I was having a lot of fun. There was a nostalgic thrill to making my way through traps-traps like nothing I'd seen since Tomb Raider on the original Playstation. And while you can't deviate from the path through each level, the thrill of exploration is still there, because you have to work out how to get through the level.
I must commend Ubisoft on two things. The first is that they actually managed to make a game like this work well with a keyboard and mouse, and the second is that they also made sure the game looked good on lower settings. It's not every day you find a console to PC port that has fared so well, and while I suffered two fatal crashes, bad lip-synching, and sound effects being repeated, they can probably be put down to my PC. Though considering how bad Assassin's Creed's port was it might not be. All in all though, credit where credit is due.
I know I'm repeating myself, but it really was a monumental change in opinion. In fact I hated everything about the game to begin with. Shall I add something else to the list? Well, all the Persians looked and sounded decidedly American. Sure it's nitpicking, but for a game that desperately wants to feel like a tale from the One Thousand and One Nights, it's somewhat important. Yet at the end of the day if it had actually felt like that I probably wouldn't have ended up liking it; at the very I certainly wouldn't have liked it as much as I did.
I'm personally not a huge fan of that type of story-something about it just doesn't click with me-yet I would certainly have commended Ubisoft for putting it into a video game. But I'm a huge sucker for B-Grade shows and films, and there really aren't enough games B-Grade games, which is probably because there isn't much ambition story and character wise in video games. The Two Thrones had ambition, and because it had ambition and could fail, it could be B-Grade.
But I didn't love everything about it. The combat-oh god the combat! Maybe this was the failing in their keyboard/mouse control scheme? Maybe this was why they said you needed a gamepad for optimal experience? I doubt it. Even if I had taken the combo system seriously for more than five minutes, (after which I realised repeatedly pressing E got the combat out of the way a hell of a lot quicker) except for the boss battles, almost all combat felt like an annoying obstacle. I'm in the middle of streaking across roof tops, running along walls, and then I have to stop for thirty seconds just to kill some bloody sand monsters? Oh come on! Talk about a pace killer. And being unable to change secondary attack to the right mouse button without changing wall run is sheer lunacy. That's how it should be in the first place! After such an otherwise successful control scheme you really have to wonder what the hell they were thinking.
Still they managed to pull off the boss fights well enough. It was just a pity there weren't more of them. In fact if there were, and most confrontations with sand monsters were removed, the pacing and flow of the game would probably have been greatly improved. Here is where I would complain about the control in the boss fights, but I won't because short of offering different camera angles depending on your control scheme, there isn't really a way around it-wait, why the hell didn't they just add in a new camera angle for those that used a keyboard and a mouse?!
But one thing Ubisoft have no excuse for is some of the save point positions. For the most part they're well placed, but some have been placed seemingly at random with absolutely no thought for how long the player has been playing or what their frustration level might be. The best example of this is late on in the game. After a lengthy chariot chase (which was a pain in the arse) you are then pushed head first into a boss battle. Surely after a frustrating section that many people probably took awhile to complete, it would have been wise to give you the option to save? It is just before a god damn boss battle after all!
Another is the result of the linearity: due to the fact that you have to figure out where to and how to get where you need to go, the linearity doesn't make the core gameplay boring. It does however make it frustrating. You can never be sure which crevasses you can grab onto, and which protruding beams of wood you can drop down to. This is especially annoying because it will mean that you will probably miss some health upgrades because you'll never quite be sure if you can drop down to that cave to check if there's an upgrade inside it é Then again maybe I'm just a wuss. I mean with sand tanks it doesn't matter too much if you fall to your death because you can just rewind. (Did you just see how seamless that segue was?) Actually, at first I thought that this got rid of the consequences of falling, but they managed to balance the number of sand tanks you have perfectly, so that it did give you some leeway for trial and error, but it didn't mean that there were no consequences for dieing; there's only so many times you can rewind before your sand tanks run out!
I think I'm still surprised at how much I ended up enjoying it. I really did think I would absolutely hate it, but due to the corn and nostalgia factor it will probably go down as one of my favourites. I know what you're thinking, repeating yourself twice is indulgent, but repeating yourself three times is lame. Well it's because that's what The Two Thrones is to me. It's indulgent, it's stupid, and I loved every second of it because it was. I hope you came into the review with even lower expectations than I did with the game, as otherwise I'm in trouble.

NOTE:
I should probably clarify that my use of B-Grade here is not referring to low-budget films, as Prince of Persia certainly isn't low budget. It's in reference to films that are so bad that they are good, but I couldn't really be bothered typing that out several times. :P

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"Foolz3h reviewed Prince of Persia: The Two Thrones for the PC..." was posted by Foolz3h on Fri, 02 Jan 2009 23:40:18 -0800
]]> http://www.gamespot.com/prince-of-persia-the-two-thrones/user-reviews/636219/platform/pc/ Sat, 18 Oct 2008 21:10:37 -0700 Foolz3h reviewed Outcast for the PC... http://www.gamespot.com/outcast/user-reviews/615469/platform/pc/ ...and gave it a 7.0.


The US government sends a probe into an alien parallel universe, but naturally things go wrong. An alien damages the probe resulting in the impending destruction of the universe if the probe can not be recovered. Step in Cutter Slade, a wise-cracking hard arse former navy SEAL who you have the honour of playing. Slade is ordered to escort three scientists into the parallel universe, but once again things don't go so well as Slade is separated from the scientists-losing most of his equipment in the process-and so an epic adventure of seemingly simple tasks that never quite go to plan begins.
Slade wakes up in a small village draped in beautiful white snow. He makes first contact with the aliens, and much to his dismay they tell him he is the Ulukai who is the prophesised being who will save the world from Fae Rhan, the evil dictator that rules Adelpha. What did I tell you about things not going to plan?
One of the first things you'll notice about Outcast is the interface and presentation. At a time when widescreen monitors were not readily available, Outcast is played at the highest resolution of 512x384, this means that you're playing in widescreen! Across the bottom of the screen there is a black bar, and while this cuts down on your vision, it adds to the cinematic feel of the game. While there is a HUD, many steps are taken to keep you immerse in the beautiful world of Adelpha. To bring up the map you hit tab, and when you do Slade has a pair of futuristic goggles descend over his eyes, and the map comes up. To further immerse you in the world, early on you are given the Gamsaav, a mystical item, that when squeezed, saves your life essence (in other words it saves the game). However, as you squeeze it, it glows and makes a noise, so if you try and save near an enemy they will investigate. It's the small details like this that were ahead of its time, you see games like Dead Space praised for integrating the HUD into the back of the protagonists suit, but Outcast had already been there and done that almost ten years earlier!
Upon completing a few tasks around Ranzaar (the snowy starting area), you're told that the Ulukai must collect five Mons before he can stop Fae Rhan. When you leave Ranzaar, you come across another very progressive feature. Outcast is completely non-linear! The Mons can be recovered in any order! While the quests themselves are quite linear (though a few do give you a choice or two here and there), you can play them in any order you like. I know games like the Elder Scrolls were around before Outcast, but I'm having trouble thinking of an action adventure as old as Outcast that is as non-linear.
But this is where we discover that Outcast has aged a little less than gracefully in certain areas. Shamazaar is a lush land of green riss (the most popular food in Adelpha) fields populated by Gandha talan (the working class), Fae talan (soldiers), and Twon-Ha (bird-like creatures that you can ride). When you mount a Twon-Ha you'll find you can't move, and when you walk through riss you'll find you move incredibly slowly. Problems like these are to be expected with old games, and can actually be fixed with CPU-Grabber, but it's annoying nonetheless. However, I suffered a far worse problem when I was about half way through, when the game suffered multiple fatal crashes, but thankfully this was fixed with a third party mod. The last problem-and perhaps the biggest-is not fixable by anything but a time machine and a memory wipe.
You see certain aspects of Oucast's gameplay has not aged particularly well. Most side-quests consist of going between quest vendor and quest vendor (A fact that Slade himself makes light of!), and while the dialogue and voice acting has high production values, and is deliciously cheesy, it's not exactly engaging. Especially when a seemingly simple task turns into a long trek across Adelpha. Ten years ago, exploring the world itself as you did the quest was probably engaging enough, and while the graphics have aged remarkably well (thanks to the unique smooth look of the voxel engine), it's just not as big of an attraction as it would have been ten years ago.
As well as the dialogue and story, the combat itself has aged very well. While it's an action adventure, you move with WSAD, and aim and shoot with the mouse. You can even go into first person mode for better aiming. Apart from your human pistol, you will get a multitude of alien weapons-from mortars to sniper rifles-and you'll need them, you see there isn't exactly a lack of Fae Talan aroundé though there will be by the time you're finished! I believe at one point near the end I was fighting 20+ Fae Talan, which is quite an impressive achievement for a game so old.
While there are a lot of enemies, there can be large gaps between them. So when you're not fighting, it simply feels like you're walking around talking to peopleé which is pretty much the case. To make matters worse, you can weaken soldiers, and lower their numbers by doing resource quests. These generally involve convincing the leaders of the different regions of Adelpha to stop giving supplies to Fae Rhan. In the desert region of Motazaar this would mean they would stop mining metal for the soldiers' weapons, which would make the soldiers' weapons weaker, in the marshy region of Okasankaar this would mean they would stop supplying the soldiers with Sankaar (fish) which would make them physically weaker and therefore easier to kill. There are four resource quests in total, and by the time you're finished you will kill the soldiers in two or three shots, and they will do very little damage, making the game incredibly easy.
There is however, are several aspects of Outcast that time will never diminish: the story, the well realised and in-depth world, the dialogue and voice acting, but most of all, the delicious sci-fi sense of humour and references. For a start the different nations of Adelpha are accessed through Daokas, that look almost identical to Stargates from Stargate, and in the city of Motazaar there are buskers playing music from Star Wars. If you have a long attention span you should definitely give Outcast a try, it might be slow at times, but listening to the Star Wars theme as Slade is sent on yet another seemingly simple task that turns into something much harder will ease the pain.

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"Foolz3h reviewed Outcast for the PC..." was posted by Foolz3h on Sat, 18 Oct 2008 21:10:37 -0700
]]> http://www.gamespot.com/outcast/user-reviews/615469/platform/pc/ Sun, 05 Oct 2008 07:38:45 -0700 Foolz3h reviewed Oddworld: Stranger's Wrath for the Xbox... http://www.gamespot.com/oddworld-strangers-wrath/user-reviews/612287/platform/xbox/ ...and gave it a 8.5.

Stranger's Wrath is a game I waited a long time to play. I had fallen in love with Abe's Oddysee when it was first released, and the love affair with Oddworld continued with Abe's Exodus. However, with the news that Oddworld would be Xbox exclusive, I realised I may have to wait a long time before the love affair could continue, and as with all love, separation from my lover made it dwindle. Some years later I had the chance to play Munch's Oddysee and it just didn't have that something special, it was more world, and less odd. However with my own Xbox acquired, my quest to play Stranger's Wrath began. After a long battle with Sligs and Scrabs I managed to steal a copy from a Glukkon, and I was away.
I had high expectations for Stranger's Wrath, it didn't have to be a technically great game, but it had to restore my faith in Oddworld, and as this was before it was announced they were getting back into game development, it had to be one last final hurrah for Oddworld, it had to be our last glorious embrace. And in four simple words, I was not disappointed. You can stop reading now, in fact perhaps I should stop the review now? But I shall push forwards-don't give up reviewer!-Whether you like or not.
When I first started I was apprehensive, it was more Spaghetti Western than Oddworld. There were talking chickens and cats instead of green people with their lips sowed together, and there were beautiful sandy towns instead of dark grey industrial factories. Not to mention you had a gun! However there's not much more Oddworld than a gun that shoots cute small creaturesé
After I got over the initial shock, my love for Oddworld was rekindled. Now that I've got the auto-biography out of the way, I should probably get on with the review. Stranger's Wrath follows a bounty hunter who goes by the name of Stranger. He needs an operation for some mysterious ailment, and the best way to make money is hunt down bandits, capture them by sucking them into his bag with the X button. Of course it's not as simple as that, before you can get to the head honcho you've got to take out his bandits. Now if the fact that you're shooting cute creatures at enemies isn't enough for you to work this out I'll spell it out for you-Oddworld is not a traditional shooter. Getting through the bandits isn't run and gun, it's a strategic puzzle, and trust me, when there are 20 bandits trying to kill you you'll have to think about what you're doing. You'll have to utilise all the different types of ammo. Perhaps you'll immobilise one group of bandits with Stunkz (they stop a group of enemies) while you lure in a group of enemies with the Chippunk and then blast them with the exploding Boombats. To make matters a little bit harder, you can make far more money if you capture the bandits alive. So while you've got those two groups stunned, you better start sucking them up, of course they don't stay stunned for long...
When you've taken out the bandits you come to the boss. They're not the most complex bosses to take down, but they can prove a challenge to capture alive, as you've got to survive for a fair bit longer, than if you were to just blast them until they died. Nevertheless, they are usually a satisfying climax to a level, and when you're surrounded by bandits and the boss, provide an enjoyable challenge.
Just as the story begins to ramp up, you're hit with a brilliant twist. Unfortunately the twist changes the structure to a far more open yet traditional shooter. No longer is it necessary to capture the enemies alive, and with your ammo being beefed up, it becomes a little more run and gun. That, and the lack of bosses, would make the second half of the game a little less engaging, if the story didn't hit its stride, and in cIassic Oddworld-fair you'll be fighting for natives against the nasty scourge of industry! And boy are the natives' surroundings beautiful! In fact the whole game is beautiful, the chicken-like Clackers are small chubby birds full of personality and zest, and they live in rich 1800s western-styIe towns. The country side ain't bad either, there are rocky mountain sides, dark caves, and old ruins. But it amps up when the second half begins, everything gets much, much bigger, from huge docks, to large cities and industrial complexes everything is beautiful, and with the blue electricity of Zappeflies, and the fiery explosions of Boombats your enemies will be dieing in a way that does justice to their surroundings!
However, it's a little disappointing to hear how poorly recorded the voice acting is. A lot of the time I had trouble understanding what was being said due to the muffled sound of the voices, it's especially odd considering the crisp quality of the sound effects and the musical score. It's a shame too, as the script certainly had its moments, though I must admit that at times the jokes fell a little flat.
I've been a little critical in this review, but they're more from an Oddworld fan's point of view, than a gamer's. It's one of the best Xbox games I've played, it may have its problems, but it should be remembered among the Xbox's best. And despite the criticisms, it's a fine swan-song for Oddworld, (though it isn't a swan-song now!) they managed to take Oddworld in a new direction quite successfully, and perhaps that was the problem with Munche's Odyssey. Maybe it was just too much of the same thing, perhaps Stranger's Wrath was what Oddworld needed to revitalise the series, and my love for it! Either way my love is as strong for Oddworld than it ever was, and I eagerly await their what they come up with next (here's hoping *crosses fingers*). I just hope it's not on the Xbox 360, or I will suffer all over again! Oh, why do I still love you when you torture me so? You're no good for me, Oddworld, but I love you all the same!

Get the full article at GameSpot

"Foolz3h reviewed Oddworld: Stranger's Wrath for the Xbox..." was posted by Foolz3h on Sun, 05 Oct 2008 07:38:45 -0700
]]> http://www.gamespot.com/oddworld-strangers-wrath/user-reviews/612287/platform/xbox/ Tue, 15 Jul 2008 04:16:50 -0700 Foolz3h reviewed Shadow of the Colossus for the PlayStation 2... http://www.gamespot.com/shadow-of-the-colossus/user-reviews/591147/platform/ps2/ ...and gave it a 9.5!

Shadow of the Colossus (SotC) is the second game from the talented folks at Team Ico. There were high expectations for SotC after Ico was released to such high critical acclaim. So the question is, has Team Ico managed to create not one, but two, of the PS2's best games ever? The short answer is a resounding HELL YES!
The game opens with a hawk flying high above a cliff top on a dark night. The camera then pans down to a horse (Agro) carrying a young man (Wander) and a large sack across a precarious Cliffside path. As you hear the beautiful orchestral music, that plays as he risks life and limb, and as you see the wonderful animation as the magnificent horse scales the dangerous path, you know you're in for something special. Eventually Wander arrives at a temple. He places the 'sack' down on to the altar, and it is revealed that the sack contains a dead woman.
A powerful voice addresses Wander. It tells him that the young woman can be resurrected if he destroys 16 large stone statues. And how do you destroy large statues? Why, by hunting down and killing colossi of course! You jump on your horse on the trail of your first kill. We'll leave Wander there for now and talk about a couple of things.
First is the horseback ridding: not only is the animation absolutely superb, the controls are too; you press X and Wander will kick his trusty steed, and it shall respond by increasing in speed. When you get up to a healthy gallop you can simply hold down X and you'll sail smoothly across the world. Now that's all well and good but obviously you'll want to steer. Simply push the analogue stick left or right to pull the reins, or pull it backwards to yank the reins backwards and Agro will slowly grind to a halt. The smooth control, combined with the clip clop of Agro's powerful hooves, careening across the sandy ground- leaving a trail of dust behind you- really make it feel like you're riding a horse.
Second is the open world to explore: not only is the scale of it impressive, so is the detail and beauty. From the smallest blade of grass, to the largest empty temple everything is in a state of decay, and yet it all feels sacred and beautiful. Speaking of temples; to save you need merely find a statue and pray. It makes the saving seamless, and never detracts from the feeling of immersion. Not only that but they're quite useful for finding your next target. You see if you hold down circle with the sword equipped Wander will raise the blade and in an area where there is light the blade will shoot a ray of light in the direction of your next colossus. But apart from the odd instances of fauna which you can kill and eat, there is very little to do in the world. You just tramps across the sparse and empty world, to find your next colossus and that's all there is to it. Though, I must admit it does give you quite a feeling of isolation and perhaps even despair.
So if the world is that empty what about the colossi? Well let me start by saying that they're not called colossi without a reason! These are giant monsters of steel, stone, flesh and fur, that hulk their way slowly across the earth, or soar gracefully through the sky. There are three stages to taking down a colossus. 1. You stalk it; looking for weak spots by shining light from your sword across its body, while also looking for ways to climb the beast. 2. When you've found a way to, you climb across the hulking beast, as it does its best to shake you from its body. 3. When you have finally climbed to its weak spot; killing it! To do this you crouch down over the weak spot by holding R1, then you hit square and Wander will raise his blade. The controller will shake as he musters up the strength to plunge it deep into the Colossus' flesh. When he does, there is a sickening crunch and black blood flies from the wound. As satisfying as it is-you've just scaled a 5 story high walking beast, avoiding its brutal attacks, while finding away across its body, for Christ's sake!-something about it doesn't feel right. It feels almost as if you're desecrating something sacred, and as the colossus' lifeless body crashes loudly onto the ground you can't help but feel a little guilty for destroying something so magnificent.
I mentioned detail earlier, and just to add to that feeling of guilt and brutality, the more colossi you destroy the more tattered Wander's clothes become, the more scarred his body, and the more cracked his skin. It's as subtle an effect as any, but boy is it a powerful one!
This leaves us with one question. What the hell is SotC? A platformer, a puzzle game, an adventure game, an action game? I can't look passed puzzle-platformer. The puzzle is figuring out how to take the colossi down: from finding their weak points, to figuring out how to get to them. And there's no denying the scaling of the colossi themselves is anything but platforming. But this is what makes SotC so special. You can't tie it down to one genre; you can't label it as anything-except-perhaps-unique.
So clearly there are few similarities between Ico and SotC. As magnificent as Ico was, the actual level design and mechanics were not very original or ambitious. It was however carried off perfectly. It's the complete opposite with SotC: absolutely everything about it is ambitious. Yet I can't help but feel that there could have been something more to SotC, and this was certainly not something I felt during Ico. Yes, taking down the colossi is brilliant, from their beautiful design to the wonderful orchestral music that plays as you scale them. But it's the bits in between that are lacking. They're beautiful and powerful, but that's all they are. They lack substance. After a certain point you wonder why they are even there; why you can't just skip the Hors d'éuvre and get to the main course.
It doesn't feel right ending on such a negative note so let's head for something I haven't covered in detail yet. The sound. Like in Ico there isn't a whole lot of music in the game, in fact it only features during cut scenes, and when you're up against the Colossi. But there's no doubt that this is a positive not a negative. The musicless world adds immensely to the feeling of isolation. And the music while taking down a colossus makes it all the more intense and powerful. In fact the sweeping score is definitely one of the best to have graced the PS2.
I don't think this review has done SotC justice. I've probably not focused enough on the positives, but that's because they're simply something you have to experience for yourself. Heck, I didn't even mention how touching the plot can be. At a few points I must admit I was quite moved. SotC is definitely not an uplifting game. In fact I'd say it's pretty damn depressing, but there's always a feeling of hope, and whether what he's doing is right or wrong, his motivation is never in question. But like I said you have to experience it for yourself, it's a game that truly deserves to be called unique, and like Ico, is a special game that should be experienced by all that own a PS2. And if you don't then this is worth both the price of a PS2 and the game!

Get the full article at GameSpot

"Foolz3h reviewed Shadow of the Colossus for the PlayStation 2..." was posted by Foolz3h on Tue, 15 Jul 2008 04:16:50 -0700
]]> http://www.gamespot.com/shadow-of-the-colossus/user-reviews/591147/platform/ps2/ Tue, 22 Apr 2008 06:52:08 -0700 Foolz3h reviewed ICO for the PlayStation 2... http://www.gamespot.com/ico/user-reviews/568437/platform/ps2/ ...and gave it a 10.0!!!

I know it's a cliché to say this but when you come across a game this good it's hard to describe. I shall try my best though! Perhaps the hardest thing to do is begin because you've got the whole game running through your head, hypnotising you into a thoughtless slumber, in which the only thing you are able to experience is the game itself. Naturally it is hard to describe something when one is thoughtless!

I shall try starting from the beginning though. The game opens with a long cinematic, a boy with horns is carried on horseback with his hands tied. His captors carry him into a strange castle in which they place him inside a strange sacrificial box. They leave, the boy struggles and due to some sort of minor earthquake the box tumbles over and he is freed. I say a long cinematic and I mean it, and by the description I gave, I'm sure it sounds a little mundane and would be the sort of cut scene you'd want to skip. But believe me the direction and the animation will have you sitting there your eyes glued to the screen.

Soon after escaping he discovers an almost ethereal girl trapped in a cage. Naturally being the Good Samaritan that he is he helps her escape! As the pale white girl thanks him we see just how damn good the animation is as it zooms in on their faces. Though she doesn't speak (and to use another cliché!) Her face says a thousand words.

It is then that we are introduced to the black demon-like creatures that will be the bane of Ico's existence. Luckily a torch has fallen from the wall. So naturally Ico picks up the stick and slays the beast.

This brings us to the combat in the game. To attack you simply hit the square button and Ico will swing the weapon he holds. It's very simplistic, but there is some strategy involved. Most of the enemies do not attack with Ico facing them and will try and sneak around behind him to grab Yorda. Often you will have to lure them in to trying to grab her with your back turned to them and at the last moment turn around and let them have it! It may not be the most complex system but on your first play through you genuinely fear for both Yorda and Ico.

In Ico and Yorda SCE have come across a truly special mechanic. You can call Yorda over to you by holding down the R1 button, and when she stands next to you, you can take her hand. As you run and pull her along behind you the controller vibrates softly and gives you the sensation of holding someone's hand. It's simple details like this that make Ico such a special game.

And details are what you'll get! The castle in which Ico and Yorda are held captive is truly magnificent, from the oppressive strong architecture to the rust that collects underneath the many chains that hang threateningly from beams holding up the castle's heavy roof, everything is full of detail. When you're outside and have explored the castle a little you'll see places you've come from, from different angles, and you'll see the ocean, forests and unreachable doors that help give the castle a "real" feel.

The sound is fantastic as well, there's little music, in fact the soundtrack lasts only 24 minutes, but it's all the better for it. You can hear the howling wind, the burning torches, and your on sandals pitter patter across the stone floor. And when the sound is used it's used to effect, when enemies appear there'll be sinister music and you'll immediately become tense and watchful.

600 words in and I haven't even said anything about the game play! Admittedly it is a little derivative, but masterfully designed. The combat, like I said is simple, but it's effective. But combat isn't what Ico is about! The castle though oppressive, begs to be explored, and explore it you shall! From waterfalls, to dungeons it feels huge, even if it does only last for 6 hours.

And here I am again! Sidetracked. The game play consists mostly of puzzle solving, enter a room and work out how to get across to the other side. This could of course get repetitive and boring but it doesn't. For one thing the puzzles are logical and a joy to solve, and the fun of climbing never gets boring. But the mechanic of having to watch out for Yorda makes things infinitely more interesting, you can't just climb across a ladder and run through the next few rooms before coming back to Yorda because she'll be captured again. Now you've got to not only solve the puzzle but protect here as well! Besides you won't get very far without her as there are doors only she can open.

Which I suppose could be considered lazy developing, almost a deus ex machina (only to stop the game from progressing, not to end it!). But it's not, if there wasn't enough incentive to protect her before there certainly is when you skip ahead without her and find that you can't go any further! And honestly if you do that it serves you right if she's then captured behind your back.

My one criticism would be the ending, SPOILER let's just say at first it would seem it's very likely that Yorda dies. After all that work to escape and save her it's naturally very sad, and indeed a little frustrating. So naturally killing her off probably isn't the "correct" ending. Luckily it isn't the actual ending! After the credits you wash up on a bright beach and eventually find Yodra, alive, washed up near by. Now that's all well and good, and quite honestly one hell of a relief, but it's quite ridiculous having her wash up on the beach like that and raises many questions. Especially considering she could've just jumped in the boat beside Ico! End SPOILER
But that's a minor criticism and certainly doesn't detract from the experience.

I don't think I've given it justice, artistically it's one of the most beautiful games you'll see, and its animation puts to shame most 'current gen' games-If your heart doesn't skip a beat when you watch Yorda jump across a 2 metre game leading down to a certain death then you're a braver man than I!

It can be hard to find and a little pricey for such an old game, but for Yorda and the art alone it's worth getting. Just make sure you download the European cover and stick it over the US box art!

Get the full article at GameSpot

"Foolz3h reviewed ICO for the PlayStation 2..." was posted by Foolz3h on Tue, 22 Apr 2008 06:52:08 -0700
]]> http://www.gamespot.com/ico/user-reviews/568437/platform/ps2/ Sun, 16 Mar 2008 00:59:25 -0700 Foolz3h reviewed Zack & Wiki: Quest for Barbaros' Treasure for the Wii... http://www.gamespot.com/zack-and-wiki-quest-for-barbaros-treasure/user-reviews/558182/platform/wii/ ...and gave it a 9.5!

As you can probably tell from the small introduction Zack and Wiki isn't an in-depth exploration of maritime politics! However, I'm sure some of the puzzles involved could give Captain Cook a run for his money.

At the beginning of the game we are introduced to a young wannabe-swashbuckler who goes by the name of Zack and his loyal flying monkey Wiki. They're attacked by the Rose Rock Pirates, lead by the ever greedy Captain Rose. The pilot (Johnny Styles) bravely ejects from the plane leaving Zack and Wiki to fend for themselves! It's a baptism of fire, though the flames have barely begun! The first mission acts as a perfect tutorial introducing you to the game's mechanics and the very logical style of the puzzles.

After you finish the first mission you come across the legendary pirate Barbaros, (or baru-baros as the characters in the game call him) unfortunately he's cursed and is just a large golden head. He offers you his ship if you'll put him back together, now normally a pirate would just leave him there to rot but this pirate's ship is the stuff of legends and is contained in none other than Treasure Island! So naturally they grab his head and go about gathering the rest of his body.

When you come across a centipede, or a snake (or anything alive for that matter!) You simply shake the wii-mote and Zack grabs his loyal companion, she turns into a bell, and in turn turns the enemy into a useful item!
The items work wonderfully game. If you want to get a tree out of the way you get a Centi-Saw, click on the tree, hold the wii-remote sideways and begin 'sawing' as if the tree was in front of you and your wii-mote suddenly had a sharp durable blade!

The controls all work brilliantly but sometimes (and generally at times where time is of the essence!) there are a few problems. Often resulting in a humorous animation detailing Zack coming to an untimely end! These are incredibly rare though, and are often caused by player error rather than the game not registering the wii-remote's movements. Quite simply (and with as much hyperbole as possible!)Zack and Wiki demonstrates better than any other game what the wii-remote can be used for, and is easily the best use of the wii's motion sensing technology we've seen yet.

But as great as that is this isn't the highlight of the game. Quite simply the puzzles are. As the game progresses the levels quickly become bigger, more complex and longer! It's hard to talk about them because a lot of the joy in them really is just experiencing them for the first time and then trying to work out how to solve them! I will say one thing though, be very careful when mixing chemicals!

The graphics look brilliant; there are very few jagged edges in sight and all the characters ooze personality. And the animations are comical to say the least! However later on in the game when there's a lot going on, on screen involving a lot of characters there's some major slowdown. Thankfully though this is generally confined to brief cut scenes and doesn't really affect your puzzle solving ability!

The sound however is not quite as good. The music is good, for the most part, and goes nicely with most of the levels but the sounds the characters does get incredibly annoying! It starts out all cute and humorous but when you've heard "Zakkuuu!" and other grunts and screams for the thousandth time you'll be ready to ring Wiki's neck!

One other minor criticism is that I personally found the puzzles to be in the most part very easy. As the game goes on they grow in complexity and length but as everything in the game is logical it doesn't really make it much more difficult, it just increases the required level of endurance! But that's not necessarily a bad thing. All the puzzles are an absolute joy to solve and as the complexity grows so does the fun you get from solving them. So I don't really think that's a fair criticism!

It should take you about 10-20 hours to get to the end defending on how fast you are, but there's genuine replay-ability here. As you'll notice as you're playing through when you finish each area it says you've only completed it 70%, when you've finished it you'll find that there's a whole new bunch of puzzles to solve across all the levels! Not only that but when you complete each level you gain HirameQ's which is a score of how well you solved the puzzles. Your score is then ranked as being from 'unpuzzleable!' to 'come on, think!' the former being the best and the latter the worst! And as the final incentive for you to keep playing? Your run through the levels are timed, so you'll always be wanting to knock off those last few seconds!

It's just a pity that I'm nice enough to not spoil the puzzles for you or I could have written a few thousand words, but if you do buy Zack and Wiki (as you should) you'll thank me! Well, unless you don't like it. In that case perhaps I owe you $100? Nah, if you don't like I think you're the one that owes Capcom your apologies!

Get the full article at GameSpot

"Foolz3h reviewed Zack & Wiki: Quest for Barbaros' Treasure for the Wii..." was posted by Foolz3h on Sun, 16 Mar 2008 00:59:25 -0700
]]> http://www.gamespot.com/zack-and-wiki-quest-for-barbaros-treasure/user-reviews/558182/platform/wii/ Sat, 15 Mar 2008 21:40:20 -0700 Foolz3h reviewed Endless Ocean for the Wii... http://www.gamespot.com/endless-ocean/user-reviews/558147/platform/wii/ ...and gave it a 9.0!

Endless Ocean is a 'love it' or 'hate it' kind of game, actually there's not too many people who would hate it. I think it's more 'love it' or 'this is the most boring game I've ever played'! Thankfully I belong to the former, in fact this is one of the best wii games I've played yet. It could go a few rounds with any of the wii's other large titles and hold its own, perhaps even come out the victor! So what makes it so special? Let's start at the beginning!

You start of by creating a protagonist (male or female) but there isn't much customisation available except for a couple of hairstyles. As you play through you will unlock different clothes and even more hairstyles but I personally didn't take much notice of them, and as they have absolutely no effect on your performance there's not much reason to! You'll just choose what looks good and then do what this game is all about. Dive and explore!

After being subjected to a brief tutorial and your first diving mission (more on that in a moment), you can go and explore. The first time you dive can be a daunting experience; you'll note how slowly you move and ponder whether a great white shark is much faster than you are. You'll slowly move through a near empty area of beautiful blue water and pale white sand and then gasp in awe as you come across a group of fish. From that moment onward you're hooked.

The fish in the game (and other creatures) are all mesmerising. Most of them are wonderfully animated to mimic their real world counterparts (though they do move slower, but that fits the pace of the game perfectly) and almost all are beautiful (I mean the goblin Shark isn't beautiful, but it is awesome!). The first time you see a whale you can't help but think "oh my god!" even if you're an atheist! Unfortunately for the whales and most other large creatures their animation isn't quite as well crafted as the smaller fish, in fact they look like they're a tad over weight and are having a great deal of trouble swimming at two knots, though at their size it's understandable, but it's just doesn't look right. The actual models however look brilliant. And dear god are some of them big!

The story isn't exactly going to win the Pulitzer Prize. You've got an angsty dive partner with a clouded past and the main story revolves around uncovering why she has so much angst, and then doing something about it! Doing something about it will lead you across the world. It's always a pleasant experience and does its job: encouraging you to explore. In fact if you do get sick of exploring there'll always be the main story there to motivate you to get back into the ocean. And if you finished the main story then there's countless side quests and jobs!

Speaking of jobs, there's diving expeditions where you take a diving partner into a selected area and show them a good time, photo shoots where you hunt down rare fish and photograph them. (Duh!) And of course there's a multitude of side-quests (most activating by finding an item).

But all of this doesn't matter. The thing that will keep most you coming back is the ocean's itself, the slow paced, magnificent, and sometimes dangerous ocean! Okay, so there isn't actually any danger in the game, I think the only way to die is to run out of oxygen and you've got so much that that'll never happen.

The first time you enter the ruins or the abyss will be a magical experience, in fact the first time I dived into the abyss is one of the most enthralling experiences I've had in a video game. The dark rocks, whale skeletons at the bottom, and insane deep-sea life! And at the end of it a surprise that you will NOT want to miss! And then not long after you'll be exploring another graveyard of sorts. Only in this eerie shark infested place it's clear humans have met a rather wet endé

But there are a few problems; the slow swimming speed does begin to grate after awhile, especially if you're just looking for particular item or the ghost ship. But this is a minor complaint. Another is that the diving area is so small!

Which reminds me; whenever you find a fish you can pat it, stroke it, and feed it! The more time you spend with a fish the more you find out. From the size to small anecdotal information. This is fine, and will give you a surprisingly large general knowledge of marine life, but you'll want to know more, more, more! Still, with hundreds of fish in the game it's understandable that you don't get too much information. Besides if you ever wanted something to pique your interest in marine life you'd be hard pressed to find anything better. (Only David Attenborough deep-sea diving naked could have made me more interested in marine life!)

The sound in the game is brilliant too. Hayley Westenra helps render a wonderfully surreal atmosphere with her high-pitched pop/classical voice. The whale's and Dolphin's other-worldly voices sound just as good as does the occasional groan from the ocean, and wind-like sound of a current!
Likewise the graphics are solid, the fish themselves look brilliant, as does most of the scenery. The only main criticism is the sand itself. When you brush up against it you get a disgusting puff up of sand that looks more like vomit than beautiful grains of sand. But the rocks-even with a few ugly textures-and choral looks brilliant, in fact by pressing the + button you can zoom in on any surface and take a look at tiny fish and behind the tiny fish you'll find beautiful plants, sharp rocks, soft sand, and even cold metal on your diving boat!

As I said at the beginning of the review it's a love it or hate it sort of game. If you already like fish and laid-back relaxing game play, and you're pretty sure you're going to love it don't hesitate, go out and get it! Otherwise I implore you to go into this game with an open mind and at least give it a rent. You've got nothing to lose and you could very very pleasantly surprised!

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"Foolz3h reviewed Endless Ocean for the Wii..." was posted by Foolz3h on Sat, 15 Mar 2008 21:40:20 -0700
]]> http://www.gamespot.com/endless-ocean/user-reviews/558147/platform/wii/ Thu, 27 Dec 2007 20:37:27 -0800 daqua_99 reviewed Super Mario Galaxy for the Wii... http://www.gamespot.com/super-mario-galaxy/user-reviews/534910/platform/wii/ ...and gave it a 9.0!

Super Mario Galaxy is a great game overall, being the best platformer and Wii game of this year. The graphics are the best seen on the Wii, the level design is truly magnificent, story is as captivating as ever and the sound is of top-notch quality. Even though this is a great game, there are a few faults which can be found, such as that of ease and lack of longetivity.

At the start of Super Mario Galaxy, you are invited to the once-in-a-century festival to celebrate the comet which passes the Mushroom Kingdom, which had originally gave the Kingdom their Power Stars. This goes all well until Bowser and his troopers again spoil the party and kidnap Princess Peach, as well as slewing Mario into the vast depths of space.

From here on, Mario must collect the power stars in order to rescue Princess Peach. Though this is the aim in every Mario-platformer, it is made extremely entertaining through the fun design of the quests and the overall great level design. The story also has a few side quests which are completed through Mario's journey, and this also adds to the great overall story of the game.

Whilst the story is great in the way that it not only sticks to the tried-and-true Mario formula, as well as adding in different aspects, the main attention to the actual gameplay of this game is the fact that it is fun to play. Even though the quests may be a little easy, they are enjoyable and fun for anyone who wants to play it. The fun which the game brings is one of the reasons why you will be drawn back to this game time and time again. This atmosphere is brought about through the use of excellent level designs, music, quests and the atmosphere of the game.

The graphics of this game are top-notch. You would be hard-beat to find a Wii game which looks better generally. Everything about this game looks beautiful, such as the water, the space which you travel through and the design of the enemies.

The main things which makes this game stand out from the crowd, though, is the unique level designs and new mechanics which are brought in which are utilised together to make the game fun.

The level design is of upmost quality in every last one. Whilst the worlds themselves may not be big, they are immensely detailed and are put together in a way that even though you are going into the same level (called galaxies) about 5-6 times, every time you enter it is different, and you get access to different places. This makes the same world feel different every time you visit it, and thus makes it more unique. Even though it is a little linear, it reflects the genre of the game a lot, in that it revolves around jumping, finding items and beating bosses rather then exploration of vast areas.

The new mechanic which is brought into this game to add uniqueness is the essence of gravity. The gravity really adds a new dimension to the game in that it allows for more challenging puzzles and a generally more entertaining gameplay. The essence of gravity has an impact on the majority of the quests which must be completed, and is utilised in a unique way to make the game fun.

The controls in this game are very good in general. Super Mario Galaxy is a game which doesn't really need the unique features of the Wii-remote to work well, but once they are implemented they feel like they are necessary. The ease of just waving the pointer over specific items may not seem like much, but it is a whole lot easier then having to pick each up individually.

An under valued aspect of this game is the sound. The sound is superb, as it both helps to set the atmosphere of the level as well as give the game an upbeat, fun feel to it. Even through the most challenging boss battles, the music is still upbeat and is one of the main reasons why this game is fun and as enjoyable as it is.

One of the unique features of this platformer is the ability to play co-op (sort of). This idea is great in the way that the second person can help with challenges, collect items and point things out, though it doesn't really add much to the overall game.

Even though this game is great overall, there are a few drawbacks which can really hinder the gameplay and overall enjoyment of the game. These include the camera, ease of the game and lack of longetivity.

The camera works well in most cases, don't get me wrong, and it is fine and works to the games advantage mainly. That being said, there are some times when the camera can get in a position which would not be the best, and as there is very limited camera control, this can harm you if you need to do specific things in that area.

The main drawback is the overall ease of the game. The game is quite easy off the bench, and only gets slightly harder as the game goes on. That being said, to collect the entire 120 stars in very hard to do and the later stars, and especially the hidden stars, can be very difficult, but the main story of the game is not hard to pass at all, and you have to be unlucky to have a 'Game Over'.

Another drawback which has come to my attention is the relative short time it will take to finish the game. The game has a length of about 25-30 hours to complete it 100%, and for a much-hyped game, I personally expected it to be longer then that. That being said, it makes up for it in that it is a very fun game to play while it lasts.

Other minor drawbacks that should be noted include the inability to save the amounts of lives you have, some quests are very short and easy and the fact that you cannot explore an entire galaxy at once. Though these are only minor, they are necessary to be noted.

Overall, Super Mario Galaxy is a great game which is overly fun and has great graphics, design, music and story. I would recommend it to anyone who owns a Wii and likes platformers.

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"daqua_99 reviewed Super Mario Galaxy for the Wii..." was posted by daqua_99 on Thu, 27 Dec 2007 20:37:27 -0800
]]> http://www.gamespot.com/super-mario-galaxy/user-reviews/534910/platform/wii/ Sat, 29 Sep 2007 08:54:21 -0700 Foolz3h reviewed Fate By Numbers for the PC... http://www.gamespot.com/fate-by-numbers/user-reviews/501236/platform/pc/ ...and gave it a 5.0.

There's not too much to say about the gameplay because well it's an interactive movie. You look around the environment and you can examine talk to or use certain items and people (you can't move around though) of course you can sometimes use things in your inventory with them as well but that's rare.

As this is the first interactive movie I've played I'm not sure if I should have been expecting more puzzles or something but as it is you just go along clicking on things and that's about it. This of course would be fine if the story was interesting or as atmospheric as (I assume) an interactive movie should be but the atmosphere falls flat. Obviously it's rather noir inspired but a bunch of suits, a lot of smoking and alcohol; in black and white do not make a good atmosphere. Speaking of smoking the humour in the game falls rather flat as well. Alice Sanger (the somewhat jaded P.I. that you play as) occasionally makes wise cracks but they're rarely funny and generally come across as whiny. One amazingly insightful comment was made when I examined a large billboard advertising smoking. "The easiest way to throw away your money on something useless" this coming from a woman who was smoking profusely in the first scene of the game. Speaking of scenes some of the shot changing during conversations is shockingly timed and the camera angles are utterly atrocious. I mean if you're going to constantly switch between the characters at least film from a decent angle.

The story is rather un-inspired stuff that is disturbingly close to the film Gattaca only in an un-entertaining noir setting. Basically the government has installed chips in everyone's head which tells them when they're likely to become sick, how smart they'll be, etc. so basically people who are stupid or ill aren't going to be getting somewhere in the world. Sound a little like Gattaca? The thing I found rather amusing about this was the fact that a character who is rather high up in the world is a rather heavy smoker. Surely if they can tell if you're gonna have a damn heart attack they'll be able to tell that SMOKING IS NOT GOOD FOR YOU! I'm getting a little ahead of myself with the story though. It all be begins when she's given a job by a seedy looking gentlemen to pick up a briefcase but when she goes to pick it up she is shot by a sniper. So when she's released from hospital she goes after her shooter. So the story isn't too bad (if not incredibly cliché) but combined with a poor script and terrible acting it fails miserably.

Speaking of the script at times it's not too bad and some of the problems could of course be due to the fact it's a Dutch game (Constant re-use of the same words, etc. And more importantly begging almost every examination with "It wasé") and they just couldn't translate it into English properly, but overall it's pretty poor and it completely lost me when one of the characters went off on a tangent complaining about the chip system, which was triggered by something like: "I can understand you not liking the system because you're a diabetic", and her reply included the gem "Take Beethoven for example: In this society when he was a child it would have been found he would become deaf and he would never have been able to become a composer". I mean first of all surely as Alice lives in the damn society she'd already know this sorta stuff but secondly why the hell would she suddenly choose that moment of all to complain (a conversation on a train while she's trying to work and is not interested in talking with Alice)? Not only that but it was virtually a monologue and completely inconsistent with the rest of the game and it just sounded preachy and pretentious.

Still it's not as bad as the acting which is really really poor. The same character who goes off on a tangent somehow manages to mumble her words half the time and in one scene it even appears she forgot her lines!

Plus it features one of the WORST attempts at a Scottish accent I have ever heard and I've heard some terrible ones. Still al though she had the worst performance she was not alone as all the actors put in a rather torrid performance from Alice who came across as whiney and obnoxious to-well to her mother who put in an incredibly wooden and well, she just sounded incredibly bored the whole time which to be fair maybe she was (she seems to spend her whole day sitting around drinking of tea).

Talking of Alice's mother though you're able to phone her up and when she picks up the phone she's in a small room all alone doing nothing but drinking tea and one you can ask her if she and Alice's father still live in the same house to which she replies "yes." Now this is all well and good but later one when you ring her you get the answering machine which tells you "you've reached the Sanger residence" now surely if when Alice rings her mother and she answers the phone at the Sanger residence then this would imply that they do in fact live at the same place. Maybe Alice is just incredibly stupid?

There were a couple of decent performances (in comparison) I thought a certain someone from Alice's past (I can't say much more else I'll spoil a major plot twist!) was alright at times and he managed to do a pretty effective performance overall as most of the time I never knew whether I was meant to trust him or not. Of course in the end I made sure it wouldn't matter! And once again I probably shouldn't say any more. Oh and even Alice was alright at times but most of the times she just made me cringe.
Now this might sound incredibly harsh (which I suppose it is) but it managed to keep me at least partly interested towards the end and the harshness is mainly down to me being completely put off by the terrible acting, obnoxious protagonist and terrible script but if you can look past them and this is your sort of thing you've got nothing to lose and may as well try it.


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"Foolz3h reviewed Fate By Numbers for the PC..." was posted by Foolz3h on Sat, 29 Sep 2007 08:54:21 -0700
]]> http://www.gamespot.com/fate-by-numbers/user-reviews/501236/platform/pc/ Wed, 19 Sep 2007 07:16:31 -0700 Foolz3h reviewed Nelly Cootalot: Spoonbeaks Ahoy! for the PC... http://www.gamespot.com/nelly-cootalot-spoonbeaks-ahoy/user-reviews/497854/platform/pc/ ...and gave it a 7.0.

Nelly Cootalot: Spoonbeaks Ahoy is a free adventure game designed by Alasdair Beckett, apparently Alasdair made it for his girlfriend and the protagonist Nelly Cootalot is in fact his girlfriend! Now if this doesn't ring alarm bells about a young man's mental health I don't know what will. And indeed as we delve into Nelly Cootalot (the game, not his girlfriend) it raises even more questions.
Nelly is awoken from a mid day nap on the high seas by a ghost, that's right a ghost! The ghost is Bloodbeard a cutthroat pirate who has a soft spot for Spoonbeaks (Small birds) and as luck would have it for both the Spoonbeaks and Bloodbeard so does Nelly. Unfortunately the bird's luck ends there as Bloodbeard tells us that they've mysteriously disappeared and it is Nelly's destiny to save them. So being the good girl that she is, she sets off for the Barony of Meeth. Well, not that she has much choice as Bloodbeard gives her a ghostly current which conveniently carries her ship to the island (what does this say about their relationship? Only time will tell!).
Well, now that we've got the psychological analogy out of the way let's get to the game.

The graphics though not spectacular certainly do their job and help create a surprisingly good atmosphere which with the piratey music creates a very convincing atmosphere which reeks of the sweet smell of Monkey Island. Unfortunately there is no voice acting but the dialogue is pretty well written and will rouse at least a chuckle from even the most humourless of gamers.

Puzzles are of course the meat of adventure games and although the puzzles aren't very challenging they certainly do the job. Oh and they're logical which is always a good thing.

I'd go more into the humour of the game but I don't really want to spoil it so basically if you enjoy Monkey Island and you're after a short but enjoyable adventure gaming fix why on earth aren't you downloading this?

Get the full article at GameSpot

"Foolz3h reviewed Nelly Cootalot: Spoonbeaks Ahoy! for the PC..." was posted by Foolz3h on Wed, 19 Sep 2007 07:16:31 -0700
]]> http://www.gamespot.com/nelly-cootalot-spoonbeaks-ahoy/user-reviews/497854/platform/pc/ Fri, 29 Jun 2007 03:25:44 -0700 daqua_99 reviewed Pikmin for the GameCube... http://www.gamespot.com/pikmin/user-reviews/469121/platform/gamecube/ ...and gave it a 8.8.

Pikmin is a great game for all ages. It mixed the écutenessé of Pokemon with the adventure typically found in Mario games and adds a little bit of darkness to create a game which is perfect for all skill levels and playing types.

Throughout the game you play as Captain Olimar, who has crashed his spaceship, the Dolphin, into an unknown planet filled with the toxic game éoxygené. Throughout his early investigations he discovers the new lifeforms on this planet, which he calls Pikmin. Through the use of his Pikmin, Captain Olimar must find the 30 missing pieces of his spacecraft to leave the planet before his spacesuit dies out and exposes him to the deadly gas oxygen.

Pikmin are small creatures with attributes both of animals and plants. They are natural to this planet and, once picked, follow around and help Captain Olimar in his quest to leave the planet. Pikmin come in three different colours, and each of these coloured Pikmin have different attributes, and can also develop from leaf to flower. These different coloured Pikmin add another degree of difficulty to the game and thus makes this game more of a strategy and adds length to the overall game.

Pikmin is a game which requires a lot of searching, trial-and-error and backtracking. This is not necessarily a bad thing, as the game allows easy access to restart the day you were on, and the backtracking adds to the longetivity to the game as it always adds new challenges for your Pikmin.

This game isnét one of those games which will have you wondering around pointlessly forever, but it doesnét let you reach the pieces of the spacecraft without battles. The overall difficult for the game is just right for the type of game which it is. It isnét too difficult that it will be impossible to do in the 30 days, but it will test your ability to do multiple tasks to collect all the pieces in the time necessary.

The game gives you a time limit as to how long you can stay on the planet. This gives you roughly 15 hours of game time. Though the original game may only take you 15 hours, there will be a lot of trial-and-error, and this will increase the time which you play the game drastically.

Pikmin has great visuals, by both the standards of the release and by todayés standards. Though you will not find HD graphics, the artistic value of the surroundings and the little ésecret areasé you can find sure make up for it. The area in which you play in is very artistically pleasurable, as it has an almost Final-Fantasy feel to it. This éfeelé given off by the surroundings adds to the charm and mystery of the entire game.

The sound is also stunning. The different sound effects made by both the Pikmin and the enemies add to the great background music, which sets the tone of the are in which you are exploring.

Overall, Pikmin is a great game which can be enjoyed by everyone.

Get the full article at GameSpot

"daqua_99 reviewed Pikmin for the GameCube..." was posted by daqua_99 on Fri, 29 Jun 2007 03:25:44 -0700
]]> http://www.gamespot.com/pikmin/user-reviews/469121/platform/gamecube/ Tue, 22 May 2007 10:48:26 -0700 Foolz3h reviewed Excite Truck for the Wii... http://www.gamespot.com/excite-truck/user-reviews/455646/platform/wii/ ...and gave it a 8.2.

Before the wii launch this would have to have been one of the most highly anticipated launch games (Up there with Red Steel but the less said about that the better) but when the wii finally came around, like a lot of other launch games it was generally seen as a flop.
Now, having read a positive review from a magazine that I usually have similar opinions with and after having played it before launch at a wii event at which it did not seem anywhere near as bad as most reviews would have had me believe, Of course it's hard to tell after a few minutes of play! So I decided to buy Excite Truck and I certainly haven't regretted the decision.

The graphics are very solid and if it was a GC game they would definitely, be brilliant. Great car models some beautiful tracks, the Crystal Road stands out especially , with its epic and beautiful purpely alien planet like landscape which somehow looks like it would taste quite nice!

The sound is pretty good too with some satisfying sound effects and a heavy metal sound track which really sets the theme.
The best thing about the sound though is the fact that you can play music on your SD card in the game! Much like you would play music on the hard drive on the xbox whilst playing Project Gotham or what have you. Something that should definitely, become the norm for wii.

The gameplay is quite intense, the best way to describe it would be Burnout on dirt with trucks! The sense of speed is decent and massive jumps at 300kph flying 100s of meters through rings crashing into other trucks at high speeds and massive drifts are all just awesome fun.
The wii-mote's control is great and obviously it could be done with a normal controller but there's just something about holding it like a tiny steering wheel especially in an over top game like this that is just so bloody fun! It's quite responsive too and very accurate. I for one have never experienced the problems that Jeff has.
Now I'm not going to lie to you and say that this game has a lot of depth and nor am i going to say that multiplayer is that great as this game just screams out for online service or at least a four player mode! But it is an awful lot of fun and should last you at least 20-30 hours give or take a few.
It does however somewhat feel a little like a test by Nintendo, a test of how a game like this would work on the wii and it just screams out for a sequel, it would have been A LOT better with online play or with four player hell or even an arcade mode where you can choose a number of laps and the track etc but even with its shortcomings it's still one hell of an experience and if you're an arcade racing fan you should definitely, look into it.

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"Foolz3h reviewed Excite Truck for the Wii..." was posted by Foolz3h on Tue, 22 May 2007 10:48:26 -0700
]]> http://www.gamespot.com/excite-truck/user-reviews/455646/platform/wii/ Thu, 01 Feb 2007 01:27:25 -0800 daqua_99 reviewed The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess for the Wii... http://www.gamespot.com/the-legend-of-zelda-twilight-princess/user-reviews/418709/platform/wii/ ...and gave it a 9.8!

First and foremost, Twilight Princess was the flagship game for the launch of the Nintendo Wii. It was originally announced for the Gamecube but was delayed to éadd stuff oné so eventually it was placed as a Wii launch title. This move was one of the best moves Nintendo has done in a while.

Twilight Princess is a stunning game in all aspects. From its breathtaking artistic design to its superb storyline, if you like a game to keep you interested for many hours on end and has a captivating storyline, then Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess is a great game for you.

You start off playing as Link, the hero of the Legend of Zelda series. You are living in a small town and this is the start of an adventure which will lead you to one of the most breathtaking stories a video game has ever taken you to.

The story is absolutely stunning. With so many twists and turns in the story, it keeps you captivated to the very last moment. It is a very emotional story which allows you to get very close to the characters of this game, and this helps to add to the realism of the game. The story itself is about 45 hours long, not including any of the side quests or extras which you can do, which will add many tens of hours extra to the gameplay.

The story takes you through the many different regions of Hyrule, each with its own meaning, twist and set of quests that you must complete. And everything ties in with each other and everything which you get and do has a purpose in the long run. As you develop through the story you will be able to pass areas which you wouldnét have been able to before, adding to the longetivity of the game.

The graphical design is superb. The artistic quality of the game is second to none on the Wii. Though it may not be as high-res as some of the other consoles, it certainly makes up for it through its design and detail. The design of Hyrule and all the dungeons which you enter is just magnificent, with each having a very distinctive theme which is showed to its full potential. Overall, the whole design of Twilight Princess is just second to none.

Some people were having trouble with static from the Wii-mote, but if you just notch the volume off the top setting yo will be able to hear the crisp sounds which add to the greatness of the game. The sound effects are very good quality and give the assumption that you are really the one swinging the sword or shooting the arrow.

As for the background music, all I can say is that it is the best I have heard. The quality is exceptional, it is extremely catchy and truly emphasises the mood of the game. From the fast-paced music when you are in battle to the great music as you gallop across Hyrule field, the music is top-notch.

I would have to say that this game is great value, though it is basically the same game as the Gamecube version so I have to mark it down for that. Also I donét like to think of a game as perfect, so I need to mark it down on something.

Overall, the best game I have ever played in terms of the storyline and how it engulfs you with emotion and wonder. Great artistic value and excellent sound makes for a game which is as close to perfect as I am willing to put it!

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"daqua_99 reviewed The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess for the Wii..." was posted by daqua_99 on Thu, 01 Feb 2007 01:27:25 -0800
]]> http://www.gamespot.com/the-legend-of-zelda-twilight-princess/user-reviews/418709/platform/wii/ Tue, 17 Oct 2006 05:22:58 -0700 darfvader reviewed Battlefield 2142 for the PC... http://www.gamespot.com/battlefield-2142/user-reviews/373519/platform/pc/ ...and gave it a 8.8.

When i first heared about the game I was concerned that it was an attempt to "counter" Quake wars (and to milk more money from battlefied fans). But now that the game is out it is obvious that dice didn't only add a new coat of paint.
The gameplay has a more balanced feel to it, the weapons do feel like the future weapons of the "battlfield'esque" weapons and the new unlock system adds not only weapons but abilities and upgrades to your trooper. the new titan mode is amazing and reminds an old sci fi fan of battles between capital ships in games such as wing commander only this time you get to be a member of the boarding party. If i had to compare this game to another game it would probably be planetside, and to me that's a good thing.

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"darfvader reviewed Battlefield 2142 for the PC..." was posted by darfvader on Tue, 17 Oct 2006 05:22:58 -0700
]]> http://www.gamespot.com/battlefield-2142/user-reviews/373519/platform/pc/ Wed, 19 Jul 2006 03:59:07 -0700 daqua_99 reviewed Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles for the GameCube... http://www.gamespot.com/final-fantasy-crystal-chronicles/user-reviews/340021/platform/gamecube/ ...and gave it a 8.9.

Crystal Chronicles is a truly great RPG which has an in-depth storyline, great graphics and easy-to-use controls. Anyone who owns a Gamecube or is an avid fan of RPGés should highly consider getting this great Square Enix game.

You play as a character set out in your townés caravan to retrieve Myrrh for your townés Crystal. Every year your Crystal needs purification with this Myrrh so that it can keep the town safe. This story leads you into discovering new town, battlefields and characters to interact with in your quest to collect enough myrrh.

Multiplayer is a great inclusion to this game. Playing with your friends through the GC-GBA link cable provides an un-cluttered screen which is purely used for combat, as all of the vital stats are on each of the players GBA screen. It is also helpful to have team mates help you in difficult combat situations as if you die you donét have to go back to the start. Though there are some positives, unless everyone has a GBA and a Link Cable, Multiplayer is useless

Controlling your character is purely natural in feel and would be easy for most players. The only minor problem is that you have to scroll through the different attacks you can do with the L and R buttons and use these attacks with A. What could have been done is to set the attacks to have their own buttons so there would be no scrolling. Doing this would lead to faster changes in attacks whilst you are in combat, though it would add an extra degree of controller difficulty and would be even more difficult using the GBA as a controller.

Crystal Chronicles has great graphics. The details of the environment and the characters are really great, and each attack has its own unique animation which just adds to the great gaming experience. Though the gameplay graphics are stunning, the fact that there is limited camera movement and that you seem to always be zoomed out a lot does hamper it a little.

The music in this game is probably one of the best for any Gamecube game. The music really suits the atmosphere and environment. Not only that, but it is extremely catchy and, even though it is repeated a lot, never gets annoying.

If there was any problem in this game, it would be the long entrance movie which you cannot skip, though it has nothing to do with the storyline, so I would suggest to take a look outside, because if you are a fan of RPGés, you wonét be seeing it for a while!

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"daqua_99 reviewed Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles for the GameCube..." was posted by daqua_99 on Wed, 19 Jul 2006 03:59:07 -0700
]]> http://www.gamespot.com/final-fantasy-crystal-chronicles/user-reviews/340021/platform/gamecube/ Wed, 19 Jul 2006 03:55:33 -0700 daqua_99 reviewed New Super Mario Bros. for the DS... http://www.gamespot.com/new-super-mario-bros/user-reviews/340020/platform/ds/ ...and gave it a 9.3!

The New Super Mario Bros is a side-scrolling game with 3D animations and characters. It goes back to the roots of Nintendo gaming and comes out with shining colours. This is a must for any Nintendo DS owner.

It is a typical story, Peach gets kidnapped, but this time it has changed a little. Ités Bowser Jr, not Bowser who kidnaps Peach! You must play as Mario through a total of 8 worlds to save Peach. Each different world provides a new environment, which in turn leads to new enemies and harder challenges.

The addition of the two new items, Mega Mushroom, Koopa Shell and Mini Mushroom, adds extra excitement to the game. With each of these items, you can reach areas which with the standard Mario you would not be able to. There are quite a few times where you can obtain these items and they are essential to the completion of this game. The three Big Coins in each level also add up to open up éshopsé and add to the replay value as you can go back and try to collect them all.

Multiplayer mode was a much necessary addition to the game. Being able to play against other friends with a Nintendo DS allows for lengthy and fruitful competition. Even though nothing that happens in multiplayer really effects the real game, it is a great addition which really adds to the replay value of the game.

The Minigames are another reason why this game can be played many hours after you have finished the storyline. There are a number of both single-player and multi-player minigames which can potentially add hours of replay ability. The minigames are so addictive and there is such a great variety you could play each for hours on end to just try to get the high score.

Graphically, there is no flaw to this game. Even though some will consider it a 2D side-scroller, it is better know as a 3D side-scroller, as it provides 3 dimensional animations and characters. You see extreme detail in large Mario, you see extreme detail in enemies and the environment is outstanding for the DS.

Music is back to the classics, which really suits this game. The music is addictive and catchy and really has a great feel. It can also add to difficulty, as enemies jump to the music and this can mistime an attack and lead to your death.

Overall, a great Nintendo DS game which all should own!

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"daqua_99 reviewed New Super Mario Bros. for the DS..." was posted by daqua_99 on Wed, 19 Jul 2006 03:55:33 -0700
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