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Month in Review: March 2005

This feature includes the games of the month, our monthly buyers' guide, and a link to the newest Let's GameSpot.

Comments
No Caption ProvidedWelcome to the GameSpot Complete Buyers' Guide. Our guide is in Adobe Acrobat (.pdf) format, and it's laid out so you can print it out and take it on the go. With this guide, you'll have access to our thoughts and ratings for every title that's appeared in the last month. Take the guide to your local game store and inform your buying decisions.
Welcome to a world where things seem a little bit off and Jeff's sporting that symbol of evil twindom. This show bears the mark of six games of the month, six more worth playing, and six deserving of exorcism. Is this a bad omen for March, or just a new tattoo for Kratos? Click on the Let's GameSpot logo and decide for yourself!

Games of the Month for March 2005

Brothers in Arms: Road to Hill 30 (XBOX, PC)

No Caption Provided"By bringing together the best aspects of squad-based shooters with the freedom of a more action-oriented game, Brothers in Arms offers a unique gameplay experience in the unlikeliest of genres: a World War II shooter. The campaign is varied and lengthy enough to keep players thrilled from beginning to end. There's even good incentive to play through again at higher difficulties. Combined with a well-designed and thought-out multiplayer aspect, Brothers in Arms offers one of the best World War II gaming experiences to date." - Bob Colayco

God of War (PS2)

No Caption Provided"Action adventure games of the quality of God of War don't come around often. God of War takes a tale of vengeance, set against the backdrop of ancient Greek mythology, and turns it into an epic adventure filled to the brim with bloody, stylish, over-the-top combat, challenging puzzles, and highly impressive production values. So many games within the action adventure genre tend to limit their focus so heavily to either the combat or puzzle-solving side, while leaving the opposing side as little more than an afterthought, but God of War does nothing of the sort. Instead, it blends these two equally important parts extremely well. To put it in no uncertain terms, this is one of the best action adventure games on the PlayStation 2, and it should not be missed." - Alex Navarro

Lumines (PSP)

No Caption Provided"In a perfect world, Lumines wouldn't have been sold separately from Sony's slick, new portable gaming system. But the world is still better off now that Lumines is in it. This ingeniously designed, addictive, mesmerizing puzzle game from the creator of cult classics like Rez and Space Channel 5 may not seem as out-and-out impressive as some other PSP launch titles, but it's liable to be the one you keep coming back to. In fact, between the beautiful presentation, the innovative gameplay, and the excellent single-player and multiplayer modes, Lumines may very well be the greatest Tetris-style puzzle game since Tetris itself." - Greg Kasavin

Silent Hunter III (PC)

No Caption Provided"Many simulations have been created that let you command a sub in the Battle of the Atlantic, but Silent Hunter III sets a new standard both for this particular type of sim and for the genre as a whole. It hearkens back to the days of Aces of the Pacific, Red Storm Rising, and Red Baron II, where the focus was on simulating what it was like to be a pilot or nuclear sub captain instead of on meticulously re-creating every piece of hardware down to the last rivet at the expense of overall gameplay. That's not to say that Silent Hunter III skimps on the hardware modeling--the attention to detail is fantastic--but it lets you concentrate on the exciting parts of being a sub captain instead of saddling you with loads of tedious duties in the name of 'realism.'" - Tracy Baker

SWAT 4 (PC)

No Caption Provided"The original SWAT game, released in 1995, was Daryl F. Gates' Police Quest: SWAT. Named after the former Los Angeles Police Chief who formed the world's first SWAT team, the original SWAT and its sequel were actually strategy games. It wasn't until SWAT 3: Close Quarters Battle was released in 1999 that the series transitioned into the first-person-shooter genre. Throughout the years, each SWAT game has attempted to simulate what it's like to lead the world's most highly skilled and trained police officers into dangerous confrontations. It's been more than five years since the last SWAT, and the newest iteration of the series is the best one yet, offering an intelligent and flexible interface, a varied and highly replayable campaign, as well as multiplayer modes that include cooperative play." - Bob Colayco

Wipeout Pure (PSP)

No Caption Provided"In the most generic terms, Wipeout Pure is a futuristic racing game, not unlike F-Zero or Extreme-G. You pilot unreasonably fast hovercrafts on narrow racetracks that have been carved into a broad spectrum of futuristic landscapes, and using your wits as well as the strategically placed weapon pickups and turbo boost pads, you try to outrun your opponents. This is really one of the best PSP launch titles. The high-speed gameplay that has always characterized the Wipeout series is still incredibly engaging, and the visuals simply impress, both on an artistic and a technical level. Wipeout Pure is a joy to look at, and it's viscerally satisfying enough to please fans of the series and new players alike." - Ryan Davis

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