misterjc001's GameSpot Friend's Reviews

THUMPTABLE reviewed TimeSplitters: Future Perfect for the Xbox...

Thu, 09 Feb 2006 19:36:19 -0800

...and gave it a 8.1.

I was expecting this game to be more along the lines of halo or doom but this game is much more frantic than those two. This game is more full on fun with a dose of humor put in, rather than too much strategy. There is a large aray of weapons depending on the time era you are in eg 1924, the vintage rifle to 2424 with the sci-fi sniper rifle. The minigun is probably the most fun.
The vehicles are a bit of fun with a differrent array also, an old truck to a large super robot with big weapons mounted on it.
The levels do vary a bit depending on the time frame you are in, one level you are in a mansion filled with zombies which seems to been borrowed from resident evil. Another level you are on a train, trying to make it to the front, fighting your foes along the way. However the levels seem a bit linear and you cant actually jump which makes it a bit less free roaming as well.
The difficulty seem pretty close to spot on, maybe a fraction too easy as i only got stuck in a few places for a little while.
The co-op mode is a lot of fun, teaming up on your enemies and using the vehicles togethor
Your enemies do change a fair bit, which is good as you fight zombies, robots, henchmen, security, experiments and various others.
The plot seems quite reasonable, for a nutty scientist manages to create time travel and experiment on making a super race called "the time spiltters" which he does with the help of some time crystals, which you have to try and destroy.
The graphics and sound is good without being great, a bit more sharpness for both would have been better.
The single player challenges are quite fun with a decent challenge and as you beat these a flood of characters are unlocked, but do also while completing the game.
Overall though, a funny enjoyable FPS

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"THUMPTABLE reviewed TimeSplitters: Future Perfect for the Xbox..." was posted by THUMPTABLE on Thu, 09 Feb 2006 19:36:19 -0800

THUMPTABLE reviewed Far Cry Instincts for the Xbox...

Wed, 19 Oct 2005 16:25:23 -0700

...and gave it a 8.4.

The first thing that stood out about this game was the graphics, the lushness of the environment and the crystal clear water, but this game is not all about graphics.
The game starts you off trying to escape from a chopper that is firing at you and as you do this, you go through a partial tutorial learning the buttons and actions which is nicely done. It then goes into killing your enemies by the stealth kill and and setting tree booby traps which is a uniqe fun way. But with most FPS, the weapons are limited early on starting with your desert eagle and slowly building up to the more powerful weapons latish in the game. The weapons are a good mixture of attacking styles depending on whether you go in blazing or a little more stealth or even sit back and snipe away. The ammo can be a little lean at times forcing you change weapons frequently from your fallen victims. Health and armour are evenly spread through the game and later on your feral instincts allow you to regenerate your healthn slowly anyway, your other instincts that you develop throughout the game are to see in the dark and to be able to scent your enemies, i didn't find this one particularily useful though.
You become introduced to vehicles fairly on but this is one of the weakpoints of the game, you are given first person mode when driving and is quite difficult and not much fun, it would have been better to incorporate a third person view. So when i found a vehicles i tended to bypass them unless there was a lot of ground to cover or some nearby enemies that i could mow down with the mounted weapon on top of the vehicle. The AI was reasonble, your enemies would respond to noise and when they knew you were there, they would try and flush you out.
The levels do vary a bit from the tropical island to an underground mine to medical labs to boggy marshes and some jungle as well which ads good variety.
I though that the difficulty was too easy in most parts, i only found myself replaying certain sections of the games only a few times and this included the last fight.
The other option that was impressive was the map editor, which allows you to custom make your own map. It is quite powerful and you can do alot of things like setting your environment which included jungle, beach and also what type of items on the map, they could be from a military, research or artifact background. Vehicles were optional as well as weapon type and positoning, player respawn points, cliffs, bunkers the list goes on. The only disappointing feature i found with this was that you could not have mounted turrets.
The mulitplayer features are good with the live option or spiltscreen and system link, but the lasting thing here is the ability to make new maps which will add to the lastability a lot.
All in all the game is great, but certainly not a halo killer.

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"THUMPTABLE reviewed Far Cry Instincts for the Xbox..." was posted by THUMPTABLE on Wed, 19 Oct 2005 16:25:23 -0700

THUMPTABLE reviewed Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas for the PlayStation 2...

Wed, 29 Jun 2005 07:17:10 -0700

...and gave it a 9.2!

It was always going to be a big ask trying to keep up or better the other GTA's, but San Andreas has done that and more. You know right from the start that the game is going to be a little different particularly when you get to ride a bike, does not seem much but its one of those additions that make this game so great. The best thing about this game is the "roam anywhere you want" style, the map is massive and you will find masses of area to roam between cities and towns, lots of hills, waterways, forests, paddocks and even a mountain. I'm still finding areas that i did not know existed and i have been playing it for around 8 months, so the longevity of the game is not to be questioned. As if that was not enough apart from the missions, there are the 70 unique jumps to find and complete, the 50 photographs to shoot, the 50 horse shoes to find and the 50 oysters to gather in the waters. There is a massive array of vehicles from bmx bikes to ride-on lawn mowers to sports cars to fighter jets, each with their own pros and cons. The graphics are not awesome but they are quite good, they do go grainy when it rains and when you are travelling at speed, the makers say this was on purpose to get that grainy feel but you must wonder whether the ps2 is being pushed to the limit, in any case it is not a big deal. The music is good with a mix of all styles, with some classic songs from the 70's and 80's, Lazlo is back with his talkback show. More new features include tattooing, haircuts and custom cars, training in the gym where you can bulk up and get fit,learn fighting styles, you also now have to eat, eat too much and you will get fat! Taking girlfriends out on dates and seeing if you can score with them is just another feather in the cap for the game. One of the biggest changes is being able to swim which was a bit of a sore point in the other GTA's, so when you car goes in the drink you can swim out. All in all this game is easily the best in the series and is well worth having!

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"THUMPTABLE reviewed Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas for the PlayStation 2..." was posted by THUMPTABLE on Wed, 29 Jun 2005 07:17:10 -0700

THUMPTABLE reviewed Def Jam: Fight for NY for the Xbox...

Fri, 10 Jun 2005 07:52:23 -0700

...and gave it a 8.0.

Def jam prooved quite a little surprise packet for me, not just in the fighting moves, but how interactive it was. The choosing of fighting styles and being able to combine them was a good touch but also added replay value, the different styles added to different moves. The plot was ok and so were the cut scenes which you could vary slightly as well. The fighting itself was very satisfying particularly the finishing moves where you could put you opponents head into a jukebox, a concrete wall or even out the window. The crowd added to your arsenal of weapons whether it be a weapon from them such as a bottle or an iron bar and you could get them to hold your enemy while you stuck the boot in. The 4 fighters at once was good too! Going to the gym helped you become a better fighter by choosing which areas to work on such as speed, upper strength, lower strength, health etc. It was also a bit of fun dressing your character up as well whether it be jewelry, tattoo's and clothes. On the down side, the game was a little short and some of the combos were a little repetitive but as a whole, a quite good game.

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"THUMPTABLE reviewed Def Jam: Fight for NY for the Xbox..." was posted by THUMPTABLE on Fri, 10 Jun 2005 07:52:23 -0700

THUMPTABLE reviewed Halo: Combat Evolved for the Xbox...

Thu, 09 Jun 2005 22:10:35 -0700

...and gave it a 9.0!

These sort of quality games don't come around to often and this game is no different. The first time i played this game i was blown away by it, this game excels in every department. Its not what halo does, but how it does it, the graphics are excellent particularly on some of the later levels, a lot of thought has been put into the layout design,the atmosphere is the best on any game i've ever played. The vehicles are heaps of fun to drive, or be driven around, particularly on the hummer, the weapons are a good mix each with its strengths and weaknesses. For once the storyline is plausible, even engrossing as you want to find out what happens next. The co-op mode ads to the fun with you and a mate joining up, you are able to apply different strategies simply because there are two of you eg flanking or driving and gunning at the same time. Probably the most fun though is the system link, everyone maybe raving about live but having around 12 people in the same house, the atmosphere that it creates is great, plus you can trash talk them as much as you want without the fear of being booted. Anyway because of the fun levels i would rate this game slightly better than halo 2.

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"THUMPTABLE reviewed Halo: Combat Evolved for the Xbox..." was posted by THUMPTABLE on Thu, 09 Jun 2005 22:10:35 -0700