News / by
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It would appear that someone got their facts wrong and Black Isle is in fact still open, Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel will ship for Xbox on Jan 5th, and the fate of Fallout 3 is TBD. Interplay representatives are attributing the misinformation as “false rumors”. All you RPG fans can begin the celebration.
Edit: Now I am hearing people say the entire BIS team announced they had been laid off in the official Interplay forums which don’t seem to be working at the moment. Fishy…
I don’t personally know a lot of people that liked Viewtiful Joe, but I know there are quite a few out there so this news is for you. Apparently the man in charge of VJ, Hideki Kamiya, updated his personal column on the Capcom website with details of a VJ Revival game that is soon to be released. The game is set to be a remake of the current VJ game with a lower price tag and an added level of difficulty. The column also mentions an upcoming VJ game, but is very vauge on any details. You can read a little more at IGN or at the original column of Hideki Kamiya.
Finally the US is getting a limited edition GBA SP. Unfortunately, I think it is rather weak compared to the Famicon styled ones that blessed Japan. The two-tone portables feature a platinum base and an onyx lid. The console will be out on February 9th and is being released to celebrate the best year for the 14th year old device.
[floatleft]http://www.snackbar-games.com/images/reviews/magits/cover.jpg[/floatleft]I kept my eye on Metal Arms from the moment it was released. Originally I read that it was supposed to be some sort of hybrid platformer. Where that came from I will never know, but if you buy Metal Arms expecting a platformer then you are sorely mistaken. Metal Arms is a solid 3rd person shooter with a pretty good story line and some very strange humor.
The first time Metal Arms was on the OXM Demo Disc I played it about 5 or 6 times and not one time did I get more than about 5 minutes into the level. I must have been on a heavy duty suck streak because I just couldn’t do well on that game. It showed up a second time on the OXM disc and I tried but still couldn’t manage any respectable level of skill with this game. It wasn’t until this point in time that I realized I was playing a shooter and not a platformer of any kind. Why it took me so long to actually realize this is beyond me.
Being that I was absolutely wretched at the demo I was slightly afraid to purchase this game. What if I was so terrible at it that it had no fun factor whatsoever? To save myself a little bit of trouble I rented it from NumbThumb. I was pleasantly surprised that I didn’t suck quite as bad in the full version of the game even though not much had changed. The first thing I noticed was that the game felt a lot like Brute Force. The whole 3rd person shooter had never really appealed to me and while I felt Brute Force fell a little bit short of its mark, Metal Arms delivered nicely. I am not really sure if it is the fact that BF was announced as a Halo Killer that assured its demise or if it is because Metal Arms is a more lighthearted humor driven game that didn’t make any lofty guarantees.
[floatright]http://www.snackbar-games.com/images/reviews/magits/ss11_thumb.jpg[/floatright]After acquainting yourself with the controls you soon realize that they need to be tweaked a tad. Good thing for you they added a sensitivity setting which should improve the sluggish feeling of the camera. After tweaking the controls a tiny bit I felt right at home playing Metal Arms. One of the things that pleasantly surprised me about the game was the plot. I expected a run of the mill story with lots of action, but I was given a hilarious outlandish story involving a very one sided conflict with our hero fighting an uphill battle. Glitch is recruited by the resistance army who is defending their only stronghold. Unfortunately, the army is down to a handful of soldiers who just happen to get destroyed very quickly after the story begins. The resistance is left with one lone soldier, you, to fight off an entire army.
You start off with a single puny gun but it isn’t long before you are carrying multiple weapons and sniping off enemy robots with the Rivet Gun. Glitch’s strength lies in the diversity of weapons he has. You have one gun that will do just about everything you can imagine and on top of that you have some power packed grenades and various other secondary weapons. The only unfortunate thing is that your scope is classified as a secondary weapon and its use can be rather tedious should a large group of enemies sneak up on you while zoomed in. Switching between guns is very easy and gameplay is actually suspended as you choose weapons. Normally I would consider this weak, but once you see just how many guns Glitch has available, it becomes justified.
Graphically, Metal Arms is refined and well done aside from some vertical sync issues that seem to plague certain circumstances of the game. If you don’t know what I am talking about, walk into a corner and start spinning in circles and you will see how the graphics seem to shift. That is a major issue in my eyes and I wish it would have been caught before the game shipped. Aside from that flaw, I didn’t really have any complaints about the way it looked.
I have to be honest with you for a moment. If you read the Jak 2 review then you know that I am a generally calm person unless I get really frustrated with a game which doesn’t happen all that often. So you can understand the frustration that I experienced when 2 games so close together made me almost break various elements of my gaming setup. There have been 2 levels to date in Metal Arms that were not difficult by any stretch of the imagination but the utter frustration that I experienced while playing them cannot be described. Needless to say, the game can be hard and it can be easy and it will frustrate you. Either that or I am losing my edge.
[floatleft]http://www.snackbar-games.com/images/reviews/magits/ss18_thumb.jpg[/floatleft]One aspect of the game that I didn’t get to spend too much time with was multiplayer. Scattered throughout the single player game are secret chips. These chips unlock various multiplayer levels. You start out with 5 MP levels to choose from with another 9 that are locked. The first locked level should be opened very quickly as it only takes a few chips to achieve. As far as gameplay options in MP you have your standard options as well as a few unique game types. You can play Tag or Reverse Tag, Possession Melee, Death Match, King of the Hill, Moving Hill, and Timed Bot Brawl in free for all or team mode. Death Match, King of the Hill, and Moving Hill should be familiar to Halo multiplayer vets. Timed Bot Brawl and Tag should be pretty self explanatory. I didn’t get to play it so I am still not really sure what Possession Melee is all about. Needless to say, there are plenty of options packed into this title. The only thing you may feel uneasy about is the 3rd person view in a split screen MP game. It is hard enough sharing screen real estate with other players, but to also use a 3rd person view means you will have even less of a view of the other players and the level. I can do 3rd person in a single player game and I think the MP was a welcome addition, but 3rd person MP just doesn’t sit well with me.
Despite the apparent lack of skill that I must posses, I enjoyed Metal Arms. It was not without fault, but all around it was an above average game and I don’t particularly care for most shooters especially 3rd person ones. Metal Arms is definitely fun and the storyline humor makes it even better. It was really nothing like I expected to be; it was quite a bit better. I have played a lot of very good games recently and I would rank Metal Arms pretty high up there. It took a lot of people by surprise and I heard many people mention it as a sleeper hit. All in all, I enjoyed Metal Arms, but I have a hard time recommending it with a $50 price tag right now. A debut at $39.99 would have made this a solid deal, but I recommend you wait for it to come down in price and then pick it up. If the third person view generally bothers you, go out on a limb and try Metal Arms anyway. You might be surprised.
[floatleft]http://www.snackbar-games.com/images/reviews/rotk/cover.jpg[/floatleft]As a fan of the Lord of the Rings films, I thought it would be suitable for me to do a review on the games’ third installment of the trilogy, “Return of the King”. Especially, since today is the opening of the long awaited finale of the trilogy. I would like to say that I really enjoyed the first two films, Fellowship of the Ring and The Two Towers. Unfortunately, I can’t say the same about the first game, Fellowship of the Ring. Honestly, I did not bother playing Fellowship of the Ring, because it did not look intriguing by any means. But I did have the opportunity to play Two Towers, which I really enjoyed. Now I have never been a big fan of hack and slash games, but I love LoTR.
Just like Two Towers, Return of the King begins where the last game/movie ended. You begin as Gandalf as he arrives just in time at Helms Deep. From there you are set on the journey that will lead up to the greatest battle of Middle Earth. Now, I really prefer not go into detail about the different levels, since the game follows the movie pretty accurately. Therefore, I don’t want to spoil anything for the folks who have not seen the movie. Now for the most part I will just talk about the usual, graphics, gameplay, sound, and AI.
EA made some improvements to the third installment, which made Return of the King a very satisfying title. From the beginning of the game I was hooked on the new story, graphics and sound. I was very pleased to see that you are able to play as Frodo, Sam, Gandalf, and three other unlockable characters. This is a change from its predecessor where you were only given the option of playing as Aragon, Legolas, or Gemli. Another new addition to Return of the King was the all new coop mode. This is always fun if you want someone else in the action too besides the computers AI. Speaking of the computers AI, depending on your difficulty settings the enemy AI is magnificent. If you are attacking, they will block and fight you with various moves. If you run, they will chase you and hack you up, and vice versa. But it’s rare that you will chase after your enemies considering that you will be in the middle of huge battles.
[floatright]http://www.snackbar-games.com/images/reviews/rotk/ss03_thumb.jpg[/floatright]What I really enjoyed about playing RotK was that each character can be leveled up with experience points. After each level, you are given a certain amount of experience points depending on your performance in battle. These points are helpful in purchasing combo moves, special attacks, and increased health and power. Combos are best used during bosses and one on one combat. It seems that special moves are sometimes impossible to execute during huge battles. When executed properly, the combo moves are flawless. The controls are also quite simple, and very easy to learn within minutes. In addition to your melee attack, you are given ranged attacks to pick off far off foes. Depending on the character, the ranged weapons vary. You should also remember that depending on the character, each path is very different from the others. But all will obviously end up at the same place, The Black Gate.
Graphically, Return of the King is magnificent given it’s improvements from The Two Towers. The different locations are all very smooth, colorful, and detailed with very minimal pixelation. What really amazed me about the games graphics was the elaborate detail of the characters appearances. EA did a great job in designing the characters facial detail identically to the movies. This was not the only aspect that was improved on since The Two Towers. I believe that the sound was improved with a more intricate detail to sound effects. In every level that I was battling in, I could hear everything that was going on from close to long distance. All the sounds were very well recorded and the voice overs of all the actors were uniquely written for the game. I should also mention that the music used in Return of the King is the from the movie’s original score. Using the original score really added to the intensity of the game. An aspect that was used in The Two Towers was to see how the movie sequences transitioned into the games. That effect really engulfs you into the story and the game. EA does not stop there with the improvements. As you continue to new levels you unlock special features to the movie and the production of the game.
As the final game of the series, I was really impressed with the improvements of the game since The Two Towers. Every character had its unique moves and weapons which were all upgradeable and made it very fun to play every level of the game. The story makes the game what it is by a large margin. Yes the game has its flaws here and there, but it’s not something that would make this game lame. Being able to play as the ring bearer and the great wizard is cool enough. At the end of the day, Return of the King finishes the trilogy of the games with a big bang. I would have to say that LoTR: Return of the King, is one of the top hack and slash games I have ever played. This is most certainly a game that I recommend all to play. This is especially true if you’re a big fan of the movies.
PlayStation 2 / Reviews / by
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[floatleft]http://www.snackbar-games.com/images/reviews/jak2/cover.jpg[/floatleft][author]Dots[/author]
Sequels to games make me nervous, really nervous; especially when I list the original game as one of my favorites. What makes matters like this worse is hearing things like “nothing like the original” and “this game has a ‘Grand Theft Auto 3’ style to it.” Those are just a few of the “bad” things I had heard about Jak II. Despite what the idiots that propagate the rumor mill say, I was still all for giving Jak II a try. I am glad I did. Sure it has a darker theme, yes the game play is different; but change isn’t always bad. Well, unless your name is Jak and you were experimented on with bad eco for two years.
[author]Snowcone[/author]
I gotta agree that the GTA3 style game play that was added made me nervous. I wasn’t a big fan of GTA3, but I found out after playing Jak 2 that it wasn’t the game play that I didn’t like but the characters and the story. Jak & Daxter had a great story and I really enjoyed the game but I got a little tired of running around collecting stuff. Jak 2 combined the open levels and mission based style of GTA3 with the true to heart platform levels that J&D was full of. Someone at Naughty Dog was listening as they made the “collection” aspects far and few between. Even after all that I heard about Jak 2 before I got a chance to play it, I was blown away with what they had done to the game. My first impression was 2 thumbs up and boy do I love it when I am right.
[author]Dots[/author]
Which rarely happens for Cone, so this was a good thing. I digress. The running from one end of the expansive main city level to the other did become a tad tedious at times, especially when you accidentally kill a guard and are being hunted when all you want to do is get to your next mission point. But I can look past all that running around to what is a really important feature to the game – the detail of the levels. The city itself that you spend the majority of your time running about in is so real feeling. There is even a “bad” side of town. Each time you have to leave the city walls to venture out among the Metal Heads you are exploring levels you can tell someone put a lot into. That is my favorite aspect of the game. Well, that, and when Jak goes all berserker on metal heads when he turns into Evil Jak. That’s right, I said Evil Jak.
[floatright]http://www.snackbar-games.com/images/reviews/jak2/ss03_thumb.jpg[/floatright][author]Snowcone[/author]
To truly understand just how expansive the main city hub is, you would have to play the game. It can literally take several minutes to get from one side to the other. I know many people didn’t like that aspect of the game, but I have to give Naughty Dog some credit for building a world as expansive as that without using loading screens. How they did it is anybody’s guess. Not only were the levels expansive, but they were graphically beautiful. “Highly detailed” and “stunning” are phrases that come to mind and while I had to force myself to finish J&D, I am still putting off the completion of Jak 2 as I just don’t want it to end. So the game looked fantastic, but how did it play? Just like you would expect, only you get guns this time.
[author]Dots[/author]
Yes, the guns. This was one thing that was a change from original to sequel that made an impact on the game play in a good way. All basic movements, jumping and dive rolling, and fighting moves were the same making it easy to pick up the controls right away; if you have played Jak and Daxter before. Also added to Jak II was the use of the hover board. It not only helps you to get around town, but you can play like Tony Hawk and race like, well, some fast race guy. With the addition of guns and the hover board, I would swear that Naughty Dog and Insomniac Games, the creators of Ratchet and Clank, were one in the same. One thing that I loved about Ratchet and Clank was the diverse mediums of game play they had in the game, from puzzles to racing. Jak II added those elements making the game less about collecting Precursor Orbs and more about mastering a variety of skills.
[author]Snowcone[/author]
Platform fans don’t fret, there are still plenty of J&D style levels for you to play in this one. I will admit that I did have to do a double take to make sure Insomniac and Naughty Dog didn’t create Jak 2 as some sort of joint venture. Jak 2 seemed to draw the elements that were missing from J&D from R&C. They were seamlessly integrated into Jak 2 and it was a perfect fit in my eyes. Before I played it, I heard that Jak actually had a speaking part in Jak 2. One of my favorite parts of the original was the interaction between Jak & Daxter and I felt like that was fueled by Jak’s silence. Since Jak didn’t do a whole lot of talking in the original, there was this kind of akward time of getting used to him talking in this one. I was worried that his voice might ruin some of the chemistry between them. I was wrong. Jak’s voice was perfect and it fit the dark tone of the sequel like a glove. The voice acting was excellent and the use of Clancy Brown (Shawshank Redemption and recently Carnivale) as the Baron was excellent. I can’t think of one voice in the game that didn’t seem to fit the character perfectly. Due to the fact that the style of gameplay changed significantly between J&D and Jak 2 there were some significant changes to the difficulty factor of the game. Many of the missions are very short and don’t take much time to complete, but boy can they be hard. While I know how frustrated I got, I feel it would be more humorous to let Dots explain things from her perspective of watching me play these levels.
[floatleft]http://www.snackbar-games.com/images/reviews/jak2/ss06_thumb.jpg[/floatleft][author]Dots[/author]
I can’t really say what the experience was, as I was hiding behind the sofa trying not to be seen. Okay, it wasn’t all that bad. But I have honestly rarely seen my husband get so mad at a game. I swore he was going to break the controller or the PS2 or the TV or all three. Cone is by no means a violent man, but there were sometimes when one of our cats would cross his path and I thought he was going to hurl him across the living room, all because he had failed his mission literally 20 times. Now, this isn’t to say that all missions were that hard, cause they weren’t. Overall, I would say that with all the additions made the game feel more complete than the original. So on that note, I will conclude my little portion of this review; Jak II is different from its predecessor in many ways, but those differences are what in my mind make the sequel surpass it by leaps and bounds.
[author]Snowcone[/author]
There is no doubt in my mind that Jak 2 is way better than J&D. Many sequels crash and burn and Naughty Dog made sure they didn’t follow suit. I have to concede the point that since Jak 2 is so much different than J&D it may not appeal to the same audience as the first one. The move away from a pure platformer to a platform hybrid may alienate some of the hardcore platform junkies while at the same time appealing to a more broad audience with the GTA3 style action. Jak 2 is a winner in my book and I can’t stress enough that this is one of the most solid titles in the PS2 library right now. If you own a PS2 you absolutely owe it to yourself to give Jak 2 a try.
P.S. Tell the Baron hi for me.
