Since a lot of people tend to rent games rather than buy them, I went ahead and unpinned the "I Just Copped" thread and thought about this as a replacement.

 

Simply put, if you play something and you've got an opinion on it, bring it here. You can post a full-on review or just a little paragraph talking about your experience with the game.

 

Playstation 2

 

Flatout

Jak & Daxter: The Precursor Legacy - 4/5

Jak II - 2/5

Atelier Iris: Eternal Mana - 4/5

Freedom Fighters - 3.5/5

 

Gamecube

 

Resident Evil 4 - 5/5

Metal Gear Solid: Twin Snakes - 3/5

Disney's Magical Mirror featuring Mickey Mouse - 2/5

 

PC

 

NHL 06 - 3/5

 

The rating scale, as introduced by Dorian, goes as follows:

 

Bad = 1

Poor = 2

Average = 3

Great = 4

Excellent = 5

Resident Evil 4 (Gamecube)

 

Change is something that isn't always accepted in video games. When the hyperkinetic action of Devil May Cry was taken out of the castle and placed into a sterile, open environment for the sequel, gamers balked. When Square came out and declared that Final Fantasy VIII would be a "love story" and overhauled the series' RPG gameplay for the Junction system, gamers balked. Even now, there's already skepticism over the decision to take the Shining Force series into the realm of action RPGs with Shining Force Neo.

 

But sometimes, change can be good. Sometimes, a change or reinvention of a franchise can bring about renewed success. While Resident Evil 4 doesn't completely turn the franchise on its head like, say, Metroid Prime, it does bring a fresh perspective on a survival horror series that had arguably approached obsolesence after the second entry.

 

Right off the bat, Capcom demonstrates that changes are a-coming, detailing the fall of the Umbrella Corporation following the events in Raccoon City six years before RE4. As one of the only survivors from Raccoon City, Leon Kennedy serves as the protagonist here, following through on a new mission to Europe to find the President's daughter. Once Leon steps out of the car in the opening cinema and begins to walk towards a nearby village, you are thrust into a new gameplay engine, featuring an over the shoulder camera angle that zooms in tight whenever you brandish your weapon. After you've brought your gun up, you target the enemies by guiding the laser sight on the gun with the left analog stick and, as you can begin to imagine, trying to aim and fire quickly between enemies in an oncoming horde can be pretty tense.

 

Gameplay is altered in many other ways, as though Capcom was taking notes on virtually every complaint entered against the series. Ink ribbons are no longer required for saving at typewriters. Money collected from fallen enemies and abandoned houses can be used to upgrade your weapons and backpack space, as well as purchase healing sprays and other miscellaneous items. Yellow herbs can be found and used to raise your overall life total. Action prompts come into play during cutscenes, as you mash buttons to sprint away from an oncoming boulder, or hit the shoulder buttons to evade an executioner's axe at the last second. Players can hurdle over objects, jump through windows, and crouch behind boxes through context-sensitive prompts, further enriching the gameplay.

 

Another revelation in the game is the new artistic direction. The colors are dirtier with less contrast to reflect the new wilderness/village setting, and the dilapidated houses here are more Blair Witch than House on Haunted Hill. The enemy design takes a turn as well, discarding zombies and lovecraftian spectres for juiced up occultists/villagers, chainsaw-wielding maniacs, and other more traditional horror creatures. If you're searching for an analogue, compare the differences between Doom and Quake and you'll get an idea of what I'm talking about.

 

All of these changes successfully make the game more immersive, more addictive and, while many of the changes above may seem pedestrian if RE4 is your first look into the series, it's refreshing nevertheless to see Capcom finally put out an actual sequel to a game, rather than pump out another variation on a theme. As the curtain falls on this console generation, Capcom delivers an absolute classic in Resident Evil 4 and manages to rescue the series from stagnancy. Highest recommendation.

 

5 out of 5

This is a good idea and probably better suited for the community that we have here.

 

Flatout

 

It's a crappy racing game to be honest but the mini-games, at least high jump, are a blast. Basically, the game has rag doll physics and they exploit that by having your driver go hurling out the windshield of your car. Well, the minigames require you to hurl him. For example, in high jump, you hit a ramp in your car, release the dude through the windshield at a certain and and have him try to fly over different bars of different heights. You get three attempts and then it adds up the total distance of the attempts to give you the final score.

 

There's also long jump, darts, bowling and several other minigames. I think it's worth a rent. Good time waster.

Flatout seemed like more of a gimmick than a game, though I've got to admit - the videos showing how you could drive off the ramp and catapult your driver into a giant bullseye were kind of cool. There's also a demolition derby mode in it, right?

Yeah, several of the mini-games are Derby based. Like a figure 8 track where if you're too far ahead (or behind) it could lead to some sticky situations.

 

Like I said, it's worth a rent. I wouldn't buy it as I could see it losing it's luster quickly. It's pretty fun for awhile though. Although if you're playing with friends just doing the mini-games, it'll involve passing the first controller back and forth.

Bleh. Hard to believe that hotseat controls (passing the controller around) are still around in the console realm.

 

Just for future use, I think I'm going to link to the different reviews in the opening post of the thread. Should I group it by platform or by reviewer?

I'd say platform but I guess it doesn't really matter. It'd be easier to find said game if you were browing by Platform. Maybe you could have Platform and then under it the game title? Then the titles links to a review of the game and if multiple reviews of the same game come up, you could just link to each one?

Anyone tried Mario Baseball yet?

Nope, not yet, though I'm planning on giving it a spin once it comes into my local video store.

 

Also, just to note: I'm going to repost a couple of these reviews, just to make them easier to link to in the opening post.

Metal Gear Solid: Twin Snakes (Gamecube)

 

A nice graphical update on the Playstation classic, even though the original MGS has aged better than other landmark PS1 games. The problem is the controls - I thought that there might be some minor issues with the Gamecube's control scheme, but never did I imagine the mess that Twin Snakes brings to the table, with combo-button pushes for the Codec and less than intuitive first person controls. I'd recommend it if you don't own the original MGS or if you're a Metal Gear maniac but, otherwise, definitely give it a spin with a rental first.

 

3 out of 5

Jak and Daxter: Precursor Legacy (PS2)

 

Obviously, I'm a little behind the curve in grabbing this one, which was released a few years back, but it's remarkable how well this game has held up over time. The graphics are particular are still fairly decent, with rich colors that change from day to night as you play, and the textures are certainly not offensive; contrast this game's presentation to the first Ratchet & Clank for just an idea of how this game has aged graphically.

 

More impressive is the solid gameplay, which bares more than a passing resemblance to Super Mario 64 at times. It's your standard 3D platformer, with large, open stages broken up into different goals that involve collecting stars - er, power cells to advance to the next level. The level design, as a whole, isn't quite up to par with the Nintendo 64 classic, though there are fleeting moments of greatness (the Snowy Mountain stage immediately comes to mind). While the platform jumping and design is top-notch, the rest of the gameplay suffers somewhat; Jak relies on thrusting punches, spinning kicks, and jumping attacks to bop various enemies, but all of them (the last two especially) have moments where the hit detection isn't quite what you would expect. The jumping punch is particularly annoying in this regard, as you'll often come up just a hair short of the enemy, bounce off the ground, and inevitably get smacked.

 

Other than that, though, the game is strong overall - Daxter's cartoonish enthusiasm serves as a perfect foil for Jak's run as your typical silent protagonist, the plotline is a perfectly acceptable iteration of Save The Entire World From Doom, and there are plenty of things to collect and explore to keep you busy for a while. If you're looking for a quality platformer on the PS2, don't be afraid to pick this up from the bargain bin.

 

4 out of 5

Okay, the links are all fixed up on the first post.

Perhaps we coudl rip off the SA format when reviewing games? Give the title, system and time spent playing it. A couple paragraphs talking about the game. Then a score out of five and what we feel the game is worth in terms of money.

I like Coffey's idea of how it should be done. I'll probably do quite a bit of write ups when I get a day off or so.

I've got no problem with giving a 1-5 score. I'll reference to it in the top post and, if there are multiple reviews of the same game, I'll average them out.

Dorian's Game Ratings:

Bad = 1

Poor = 2

Average = 3

Great = 4

Excellent = 5

 

I've been playing Atelier Iris: Eternal Mana for the PS2 (brought to our lands by Disgaea's own, Nippon Ichi) and I must say that I've spent more time on Alchemy than the actual game. Ok, to further explain this, you need to find certain ingredients to make your Suxitals or Dragon Steaks, and trying to remember these without the help of a guide (yes, I've actually haven't succumbed to heading to the guide yet for them) means you need to scoure the globe looking for those ever so wonderful ingredients you can't buy.

 

Its a fun process trying to get those ingredients because you go "hm, where did I find that again?" and if you can't remember, you must hunt it down with a fury and hopefully find it. I just happened to remember where to find Green Chili Peppers recently, so that I can subsitute it into one of the recipes for the Bar.

 

The actual story is pretty good and entertaining, its about an alchemist known as Klein Alvein and his adventure to learn more about Alchemy. Along the way he runs into Lita and they take on some jobs as Growloon Hunters in the nearby town. Pretty much stays that way in terms of storyline as they complete jobs relating to their line of work, and in looking for more Alchemy, until you run into the Alcavista army on your way to Avenberry (which was the heart of Alchemy 100 or so years ago, I forget exactly).

 

But I got to a point were I was like "ok, I'll just make one more thing" for Alchemy and next thing I knew, I had a new item and it was like "ooooo! I can make more!". I've spent about 40 hours on the game, and I know I've dedicated at least 30 to Alchemy. So I need to get back to the story someday.

 

Atelier Iris: Eternal Mana -> Rating: Great

 

I've also got NHL06 (PC) and its a step up over 05 in terms of gameplay, but the graphical department (unless I missed being able to tweak it) has taken a major hit. Its like 4 years old in the graphics and you get no crowd. The nice thing is create a player is back, and you can take a created team (I made the Hamilton Frostbite and replaced them for Carolina) and put them into the NHL Dynasty mode. Its kinda neat, and highly amusing having your own team and working hard to make it succeed. Although, I'm a little disturbed with my created team, because we're like the Soviets of the 70s and 80s, where we just rack up the goals (7.3 per game, in 20 games) and even more disturbed by my created self having 42 goals and 28 assists in 20 games (70 points). Any time I've gotten on the breakaway with him, its like an automatic goal, so I'm a little disappointed with the gaming physics on the breakaways. And yes, I realize I'm 8 goals away from having myself break Wayne Gretzky's 50 goals in 39 games, but I'm a little far off his 214pts in a season. ...I think playing in the Southeast Division really has bloated my totals though, since I've gotta play each of my own division like a ton of times, and they all suck ass.

 

NHL06 -> Rating: Average (unless I figure out someway to improve the fucking graphics)

 

I'll probably bust out Front Mission 4 and play it so I can review it. You'll also get better reviews on these games tomorrow. When I'm not playing NHL06 that is.

Jak II (PS2)

 

Sometimes, video game critics get too wrapped up in what a game is supposed to be and forget exactly what it is. You know the games, the ones that are endorsed by a seemingly endless line of critics - the games that you pick and play a couple of times and wonder "am I playing the same games as these guys?" Black & White is my personal favorite of this type of game; critics just couldn't shut up about it, despite the fact that there were plenty of people who couldn't even get past the interface of moving around in the game. What was the point? Why?

 

To a certain extent, Jak II falls under this category. On the surface, it seems like the series takes a substantial leap, taking the plotline into a darker direction, and incorporating all sorts of new gameplay elements, including guns, vehicles, and a gigantic cityscape with citizens and police officers that adapt to your every move. With such ambition on display here, perhaps a lot of critics are willing to excuse substandard execution, but I'm not so forgiving.

 

The game design here is a ten car pileup on the interstate, a handful of muddled ideas that manage to screw up each other. The wonderful platform gameplay of the first game is virtually muted, as the level design tries and miserably fails to accommodate all of these new tricks and treats under one circus tent. And the tricks themselves are lacking too; the gunplay would be considered a joke at best, especially if you played the game that challenged Naughty Dog to up the gameplay ante (Ratchet & Clank). The vehicle control for the hovercars - hovercars that are virtually the only way to navigate around the spacious Haven City, I might add - is embarrassingly bad, ricocheting you between buildings and other hovercars as though you were strapped to an Acme rocket by a rubber band. The Crimzon Guard, which plays the role of the police in Haven Ctiy, patrols the streets looking for Jak with MGS-style vision cones that you can see on your radar, but they're apparently just for show, as I steered our faithful hero in front of more than one Crimzon Guardsman. The inclusion of the police is, in itself, quite puzzling; can you ever imagine Rockstar attempting to place 3D platformer elements into Grand Theft Auto?

 

Some may applaud the darker direction that the storyline has taken, but the contrast between the whimsical comedy of the first game is just too much to swallow. Part of that may be due to the ineptitude of the writers, who warp Jak & Daxter from high-fiving and break dancing heroes into battle-hardened warriors that toss out flaccid one-liners like "Kill Metal Heads? Get Toys? Sounds good to me" without much of a build-up. Sure, the original game isn't exactly Hamlet and there are some traces of the previous game's humor sprinkled throughout, but the plotline induces groans at every turn and reaches far too desperately in its attempt to paint an epic revolution against tyranny.

 

There are a few positives - the graphics throughout the game are still impressive, even if the darker tone puts a damper on a lot of the aesthetic surroundings. The environments have flourishes of personality in them, with walls that crumble as Jak nears them and videoscreen advertisements that wouldn't seem out of place in Blade Runner. Character design is a plus, as Jak gets updated with a cool goatee and turns into a visually impressive "alter-ego" during the use of Dark Eco powers.

 

Overall, it just seems like Naughty Dog lost their way with this one. The transplant of Jak and Daxter's cartoony platform action just doesn't mix well with the darker direction the series has taken, and the entire game suffers for it. Other reviewers may disagree, but it is my opinion that Jak II is an unbelievable disappointment; it's not without redeeming elements, but it's certainly a title that demands a rental, especially if you're not real keen on integrating action gameplay into your platformer.

 

2 out of 5

Freedom Fighters (PS2)

 

A solid squad-based shooter that puts you in the shoes of a plumber turned mercenary after the Soviet Union (who had been the ones who dropped the bomb on Japan in this version of history and are now spreading their ideology all over the world) invades present day New York City. You hook up with a band of mercenaries and, with a simple press of a button order them to scout ahead, fall back and follow you or defend an area (or hold it down to order your whole squad around. By completing objectives and saving citizens, you build "charisma" which allows you to be able to lead more soldiers (up to 12) into battle.

 

The graphics are very sharp as the NYC environments become "Sovietized" and there are some nice snowfall effects during the winter missions. The gameplay is solid; you use the shoulder buttons to fire and jump and click in the right stick to get your inventory. It all feels very comfortable and the AI of your recruits is good as they follow your orders every time and don't go running blindly into a hail of gunfire.

 

The plot is fairly straightforward, you want to drive the Soviets out of New York, and the voice acting could be better (especially the main character). You don't get to use any vehicles, but things you do in one stage affects others (i.e. blowing up a helicopter pad in one area removes them from another). The objectives are kind of bland as well (you have to take down the Soviet flag and replace it with the Stars and Stripes in most areas to complete the mission and the one solo "stealth" mission isn't that great), but there are plenty of enemies to shoot and they also have decent A.I.

 

There is a multiplayer mode, but it is pretty sparse.

 

All in all, a solid effort that could be improved upon in a sequel. It is only $20 right now, so it is a good value.

 

3.5/5

Disney's Magical Mirror Featuring Mickey Mouse (GC)

 

Sometimes, in an industry where seemingly hundreds of games with blood and violence getting pushed out the door, it's nice to know that there's a game that can be enjoyed by everybody, a game with transcendent gameplay that appeals to audiences of all ages.

 

Disney's Magical Mirror Featuring Mickey Mouse isn't that game.

 

I'm not even sure it's a game, actually. It's a point-and-click "adventure" and I use the term loosely because all of the adventure gameplay that one might expect from a game like this ain't in there. Simply move the mouse pointer over an object, click it, and watch an animation. The pointer changes to tell you if there's an action available, and there's no more than one action available per object on a screen.

 

So no complexity, no depth, nothing; shallow minigames do very little to break up the monotony. It's an interactive cartoon and a shabbily dressed one at that. Sure, for a Gamecube launch title, expectations are somewhat tempered, but this one still manages to underperform against lower expectations, with strange modeling (Mickey's eyes are set in a little too much), and unimpressive textures. About all it has going for it is the animation and direction behind the different cut scenes after each action, which effectively capture that Mickey Mouse brand of humor. If you have a child and they have a disturbing preoccupation with Mickey Mouse, there just might be hope for this game in your household.

 

There's nothing wrong with trying to put a game out there for everybody to enjoy but, for the love of god, don't be afraid to make an actual game out of it. Magical Mirror is tedious and overly simplistic; despite being rated for Everyone, only children who are easily amused and fascinated with Mickey Mouse will get anything out of this title.

 

2/5

Ouch. That almost sounds like Myst with hacked-off limbs and misarranged organs, then put in a pretty pink dress.

Actually, sounds more like hentai/dating sim games to be honest.

 

Dorian's Game Ratings:

Hack = Self-Explanitory <- New Rating!

Bad = 1

Poor = 2

Average = 3

Great = 4

Excellent = 5

 

Pokemon Ruby

Genre: RPG

Now then, this game's kinda old but hell I've never reviewed it so its new to me.

 

Pokemon Ruby is one half of the GBA collection (Sapphire is the other) of Pokemon. The game starts off as a mission to collect pokemon data but eventually ends up becoming the save the world type game, before reverting back to become the Henon region Pokemon Champion. Basically its like every other game before it.

 

And sadly, that's all there is to it. If you've played the old games then nothing has really changed and too much stays the same. The graphics seem like a minor touch up compared to the ol' GB games, the music is uninspiring and dull, and frankly battles are so repitive is downright shameful. About the only thing that would seem to be a great idea would be the tag team matches, but there are so few battle skills that actually aid your partners in battle and so few of these tag team matches that its a wash.

 

I figured I'd give it a shot and see what happens, and now I want my time I spent on this back.

 

Rating: Hack

 

 

Kana - Little Sister

Genre: Hentai

 

Before I review this game, let me get this out of the way. Kana - Little Sister is only classified as a hentai game because of it puts those scenes in as a reward for playing a click storybook type of game similar to Mist. And for the record, yes I have played other hentai games. ...go right ahead and tease away. Blah, people already probably know I do anyways with all the anime I'm into.

 

Anyways, Kana - Little Sister is very old game in which you play as Kana's older brother, Todo Taka. As Taka you get to help shape how your little sister grows up with her terminal disease and how your relationship goes from one of that being an older brother to that of something more than just that.

 

Much of the game you'll flip from the present to the past and watch as the game unfolds due to what has happened. The choices you make will affect how the game and Kana shape up. You'll watch Kana grow up, you'll try to make her a better person (or not), and you'll try to get one of the six paths the game has.

 

The CG is actually very good and more realistic designs than you'd normally find. While coming from an older game, Kana still stands up to current graphics with its nice smooth look. The background music fits in nice but nothing to write home about; while the theme songs perfectly fit the tone of the game.

 

Oh yes, this is a hentai game so you are probably wondering about that. Well, you know how there's softcore porn? Consider this game something like "softcore hentai". The only hentai scenes are tame in comparison to stuff like Let's Meow Meow or Jewel Knights - Crusaders. The real bread and butter of this game is in its story, believe it or not, and I'd say more about it but to say more is to spoil and for such a story, I won't.

 

Rating: Great

Ouch. That almost sounds like Myst with hacked-off limbs and misarranged organs, then put in a pretty pink dress.

The Myst comparison is probably apt, except that Myst actually has puzzles. Believe me - if not for the halfway decent animations and Disney humor throughout the game, it would have been around a 0.5/5. Mickey saves the game, but that still doesn't mean it's good.

Bomberman Jetters (GC):

 

Sometimes, a series just reaches a point where it has to die. Mega Man has been there, saved by the Battle Network releases. Street Fighter II eventually found a way to increment itself to Street Fighter III. And then there's Bomberman. A humble puzzle series, Bomberman has somehow survived through multiple generations of consoles with the same simple formula: blow sh*t up with cute characters. This formula has remained relatively untouched for over ten years and it's certainly not changing with Jetters...but that doesn't excuse the lack of progress in other areas.

 

Simply put, this game is a complete rehash of Bomberman Generations, the previous Gamecube release in the series. Bomberman has never been a paragon of innovation in gaming, but believe me when I tell you that there is virtually nothing new for most gamers to discern from the previous Bomberman offering. For those with the unhealthy addiction, there are two "features" that have been added into this iteration of Bomberman:

 

1) More footage from the Bomberman anime show

2) The ability to set item-specific handicaps in multiplayer

 

That's it. If these two factors are extremely important to you, then - in all likelihood - you've already bought the game and you don't really need to read this review. For everybody else, especially those who already have purchased Bomberman Generations, just stay away, as this game might as well be the exact same game. In fact, with the Coin and Reversi multiplayer modes being removed in this iteration, it could very easily be argued that Jetters regresses from prior innovations in the series.

 

I'm the biggest Bomberman fan you'll see around these parts, but even I can't find the words to even attempt an apology for this. This is complete shovelware. There's virtually no reason to even consider this title, unless the Bomberman anime has some strange hypnotic control over you, or unless you are such a Bomberman multiplayer fiend that you've been absolutely dying for the ability to set item handicaps. If you're interested in a four-player multiplayer puzzle game with characters that are too cute for their own good, Bomberman is your game, but Bomberman Generations is likely the flavor you're looking for.

 

As for Bomberman Jetters, recommendation to avoid.

 

1.5/5

Oh man, I'm so using that review to piss off Tom. He got so annoying with Jetters (well, the anime, but he's probably blind enough to accept the game too) that the only thing he talks about more is Puyo Puyo.

I went ahead and retitled this thread with an idea of getting this going again, as well as opening up for different kind of reviews that may not include video games. Simply put, if you feel like posting a review for a pen-and-paper RPG or a new CCG set, definitely feel free to do so and they'll be sorted out into the first post with the rest of the reviews.