UEFA isn’t FIFA. Americans tend to be mostly ignorant of this fact, but the Europe-only league has its own feel. While national teams have lots of talent and little chemistry, these clubs work together much better and compensate for their relatively low skill level.
UEFA Champions League is little more than an adaptation of its FIFA series. Despite that, there are some attempts to make this game unique, like a Treble Mode that tries to faithfully recreates the entire UEFA process, and a Quiz Mode for hardcore UEFA fans. This may seem like a niche entry, but honestly, the differences between this title and FIFA are really geared toward niche fans.
As a standalone title, UEFA doesn’t disappoint too much. The graphics look great on the PSP’s small screen and the controls are solid. The commentary is as detailed as FIFA, and there are even some UEFA-specific comments occasionally. Everything you can do gameplay-wise in FIFA is here, and unlike some of the other EA Sports games, there’s no using last year’s engine and graphics for secondary titles.
Since EA’s PS2 and PSP entries are usually almost identical, a new feature in UEFA seems like a no-brainer. Players can connect their PSP to their PS2 via USB and transfer their Treble mode progress to the portable. This allows for playing on the go or on the big screen, and it’s a nice addition.
UEFA is deep, solid and well-done, just like most EA titles. It’s flashy, polished and will hold your attention for hours. Unfortunately, it gets outclassed by its big brother, FIFA. Hardcore fans might pick up both, but the casual gamer just needs one soccer game.
Don’t worry if you don’t know who Carol Vorderman is; it just means you’re not British. A game show host and former MENSA member, Vorderman is a star in the UK, where publisher Empire Interactive is based. Despite the fact that they neglected to explain her identity to the rest of the world, their Carol Vorderman’s Sudoku is a solid game on its own merits.
Sadly, the concept of a sudoku game on the PSP is just not as fluid as on the rival DS. Touch-screen control just works better for newspaper-style puzzle games. Considering the PSP’s limitations, though, this title comes through nicely. Selecting numbers takes a bit to get used to, but it becomes rather intuitive with practice.
Empire Interactive went to a lot of effort to create tutorial and help videos for new Sudoku players, and though slow and simplistic, they do the job well. However, it’s hard to imagine someone not knowing what Sudoku is and still buying a game that features it, so it’s confusing to see all of this included. However, there are some tips and tricks videos for Sudoku veterans. The video looks fine, and can be somewhat useful, but it could have been simpler and faster. All signs point to Empire wanting to get the most out of the money they paid Vorderman, keeping her on the screen for as long as possible.
Included in the game are puzzles separated by difficulty, a A
The Mana series is one Square Enix hasn’t revisited in a while. With the last entry coming out on the SNES, it never saw a revolution in gameplay or graphics. With Dawn of Mana, the company sought to remedy this.
They shouldn’t have bothered.
In this late-generation PS2 title, players are set onto the island of Illusia, where a young man named Keldy is inevitably responsible for saving the world from something, presumably involving the Dark World and a big tree. Oh, but this isn’t a normal kid. He has a piece of the big tree growing in his arm that conveniently forms the shape of a big sword when he needs it. And, to top it all off, he finds a little fairy named Faye that just loves saying her name, and gets her to follow around and cast spells.
The game’s levels have Keldy hitting enemies and shooting them with magical slingshot pellets. The goal is not only to kill the enemies, but to make them A
Metal Slug and its sequels were rarities for SNK: hit games that weren’t 2D fighters. Due to its addictive gameplay and distinctive style, the series always found a home in a Neo Geo MVS slot.
In this compilation commemorating the series’ 10th anniversary, SNK has placed all seven Metal Slug releases on one disc. In addition, there are a few extras of varying types, though this wasn’t a focus for this title. The real focus here is on the core gameplay. Though the series has simple 2-D graphics, the levels are detailed and deep and the games themselves are just truly fun. The original Slug is simple and straightforward, and the recent Slug 6 has advanced options and six characters, making the journey from entry to entry more bearable.
The controls are solid, at least. The D-pad is a fine way to move, and everything is responsive. The sound is emulated with no problem, and the graphics are still as charming as always. There are three modes for the screen resolution: the original, a stretched one that fills the screen, and a compromise that retains the original aspect ratio.
Unfortunately, the PSP just isn’t a powerful enough system to run all of the games correctly. Long menu and startup load times are a pain, and inconvenient freezes and hiccups interrupt gameplay more frequently than is acceptable. The slowdowns of the original game are not only present, but enhanced by this problem.
Much of Metal Slug‘s charm is in playing with a friend. Sadly, for this version, two copies of the game are needed. This doesn’t come as a surprise, but it still has an effect on how the game feels. One-player is a blast, but it still isn’t the same.
All in all, Metal Slug Anthology is a great set of games that suffers from mediocre-at-best emulation and presentation. It’s still fun, if you can find it for cheap.
As the Nintendo Wii stormed onto the scene last fall, one thing was noticeably missing: rechargeable batteries. Granted, Microsoft makes you shell out for the functionality, but Nintendo seemed unconcerned with the issue, leaving it for a third party to handle. Luckily Nyko swooped in with a product to remedy that, the Nyko Wii Charge Station.
The Wii Charge Station is a dual purpose system that comes with a pair of battery packs, a charging base station, and a pair of rubber-gripped battery covers that expose the contacts necessary to charge your Wii Remote. At a mere $30, the Wii Charge Station is a surefire way to cut down on battery usage while making your grip on that pesky Wii Remote just a tad more secure.
Installation of the battery packs is a cinch and the replacement battery covers fit perfectly onto the remotes. The actual charging base station is a 2 prong plug that simply plugs into the wall and holds up to 2 remotes vertically with bright blue LEDs to let you know the device is charging and green LEDs to let you know that your device is charged. Our device came fully charged, but make sure you read the manual to see what the recommended initial charge time is. Putting the remotes on the base station is not a problem, but occasionally the wrist straps make the remote sit just off balance so that the contacts don’t line up. We resolved this by always pulling the wrist straps to the sides of the base station when it was time to charge.
The battery packs are lightweight and don’t increase the weight of the Wii Remote in any significant way. The rubber-gripped battery covers, while barely noticeable, do give the impression that you have a better grip on your remote. We still recommend you put that wrist strap on, and we’re not responsible if you end up breaking your TV.
The recommended $30.00 is well worth adding the convenience of rechargeable batteries for your Wii. The Wii Charge Station is a solidly built product that, so far, has stood up to the abuse of my 3yr old son. I would say that Nyko’s Wii Charge Station is a must have accessory for any Wii owner. Go get yours pronto.
