Marco Ortega

Need For Speed: Underground

December 10, 2003

[floatleft]http://www.snackbar-games.com/images/reviews/nfsu/cover.jpg[/floatleft][author]Snowcone[/author][i]Snowcone Note:[/i] We here at Snackbar Games do not condone Pretzel’s unhealthy obsession with The Fast and The Furious and we are actively trying to help him through this addiction so if you could bare with us as we work through this time with him. Thank you. 😉

“…ROME!! ONLY MY HOMEBOYS CALL ME ROME… PIG!!” 2 FAST… 2 FURIOUS… DROP IT LIKE ITS HOT!!! That’s right; It’s Pretz droppin you some 2 Fast 2 Furious lines in this review. I have to tell you that I am not at all a racing fan, but after watching the trailer to NFS: Underground, it totally took me back to Paul Walker in 2 Fast 2 Furious. I have to say that the sequels to the movie and the game were much better than their predecessors. At first I really didn’t think of even giving it a try considering that it’s a racing game, but in all honesty I love decked out supped up cars. So why the hell not, I tried it out and was addicted. However, there are flaws to all games and I will get to those very soon, but first to the good stuff.

Underground provides you with different types of races just to mix it up a little. For your enjoyment, there are drift races, drag races, sprints, and circuit tournaments. Circuit tournaments can vary from lap knockouts to free run. Lap knockouts consist of four racers and three laps. The racer who ends up last after each lap, gets knocked out. Drift races are races where you have to slide your car before hitting the wall. Prevent hitting the wall and you will get mad style points. The more style points, the more things you can unlock. Drift races are very difficult I might add. Style points can also be unlocked by getting airborne during races, sliding, avoiding traffic, finding shortcuts, and drafting. In order to become skillful in drifting and drag racing, tutorials are provided for you. If you’re like me you won’t take the time to look at the tutorials, and you’ll just race. One of the solid aspects of Underground was the controls. The layout of the controls is super simple for even the first time racer. You are given the option to steer with the toggle stick or directional pad and your throttle is the right trigger and the brake is the left trigger. Pretty simple right?

[floatright]http://www.snackbar-games.com/images/reviews/nfsu/ss03_thumb.jpg[/floatright]Like I said before, the more points the better. The only way you can unlock more tracks is by winning each race by getting 1st place. 2nd place is just not good enough. Every time you win a race you get more points and unlock “stuff”. Now the “stuff” you unlock is what you need to pimp out your car. You can unlock vinyl, decals, nitrous oxide, performance mods, and much much more. Trust me when I tell you, you can mod your car up about a thousand different ways. It’s endless how you can make your cars look. Speaking of cars, Underground provides twenty of the hottest cars out today. Choose from a Honda Civic, Subaru WRX, Mitsubishi Eclipse and a Lancer and plenty more. One thing I liked about the car customization menu was that it had so many different options. If you are knowledgeable about performance parts, then you will know what parts to get. There are so many manufacturers to choose from so I just picked the ones that sounded cool. I think I must have changed the look of my car over a dozen times. I started with a Honda Civic and then I traded it in for a WRX which let me tell you is freaking sweet.

Having customized my car and put it to the test I have to say that the graphics in Underground are just beautiful. The city is just gorgeous at night and seeing the skyline from a distance is just tremendous. Not to mention the small intricate details added to the streets, and buildings when zooming past them. I really think that EA has out done themselves with this title. The graphics are very superior to most of the racing games that I have played in the past. I would have to say that Underground rises above the rest of the wannabe racing games out there. One aspect that EA decided to add that puts this game above the rest was the special effects once you use your NOS. The world around you just seems to become a blur and it feels as if you are going the speed of light.

Now I must come down from cloud nine and mention the games flaws. Being very few, these flaws are what keep it from being a legendary game in my book. One thing that frustrated me about the games realism was that fact that it was non-existent when it came to wrecking. At the end of every race you are congratulated and greeted by the spectators watching the race. After an intense race through the city, you will no doubt experience many slams against walls, rails, cars and any other objects you find in your way. Many times you will find yourself in an uncontrollable mid air spin caused by incoming traffic. Now in reality, the effects of driving 149 mph would result in dismemberment, being disabled, and probably death. After every race you will pull up in your ride good as new with no scratches, dents or anything. Where is the realism in that?

[floatleft]http://www.snackbar-games.com/images/reviews/nfsu/ss06_thumb.jpg[/floatleft]Something else that really annoyed me was the lack of variety in race tracks. Most were just different tracks mixed into one. The same goes with music, if they would’ve had about sixty more artists and songs in the mix I believe sound wise it would’ve been suitable. The featured artists in Underground are Crystal Method, Mystikal, Nate Dogg, Rob Zombie and many more. The sound effects made by the cars are very well done in Underground. The screeching of tires, the NOS firing, the clicking of shifts, all very well executed, but I was just hoping a larger overall collection of music for the soundtrack.

“THE POT HOLES IN THE STREET JUST BENTCHA RIMS, TELL ME WHATCHA GONNA DO? ACT A FOOL!!” Some Ludacris for you peeps, just watched 2 Fast 2 Furious and the cars in that movie truly remind me of the cars in the game. This game leaves a lot of room for creativity for the gamer. With an endless amount of different visual customizations, everything is left up to your creativity and imagination. Depending on how good you do in races, you might just end up on the front cover of racing magazines. Overall, NFS Underground provides great challenging races, beautiful graphics, an unlimited amount of visual customizations, and purely fun gameplay. For you folks that have not been able to find an outstanding racing game, I most definitely suggest getting this game.

Holiday Madness!!

December 9, 2003

News / by Marco Ortega /

Snackbarians…What is up? Sorry I have been absent from the site. My computer has been acting up so I have not been able to access the site. All is well now since I have my iMac to fall back on. Things are little hectic in the Pretzel realm, with several games to review and much drama going on. It’s needless to say that I have much on my plate. So anyways, just been reading a bunch of stuff on Splinter Cell 2, freaking can’t wait until that game comes out. Also been contemplating on buying Beyond Good and Evil, the trailer and the storyline is reeling me in. Also saw the trailer to Armed and Dangerous, I’m totally going to try it out. Played Deus Ex: Invisible War…I was totally pissed at it. Five minutes into and I almost fell asleep. I can’t review game that I end up falling asleep on after five minutes. So look out for a NFS: Underground review pretty soon folks.

Week in Review – 11/24/03

December 2, 2003

Features / by Marco Ortega /

Well I hope that everyone had an opportunity to game until your thumbs were numb over the holiday, and I also hope that everyone had a great Thanksgiving last week. I’m trying to think if something spectacular happened last week in the world of gaming, but to be honest with you I can’t think of anything outstanding. It was a really relaxed week with Thanksgiving and all. I managed to scrounge up some news for you despite the apparent drought.

To begin with, let me just say that my Alma Mater the University of Houston Cougars will be attending a bowl this year. The first time since 1996, they will be given a bid for either the Ft. Worth Bowl or New Orleans Bowl. Either way, I will be attending to root for my Coogs.

For all you Halo fans out there, the original Halo soundtrack has been released with a special bonus features. The bonus features include a Halo 2 DVD with trailers, videos, and some other cool stuff that has not been seen or heard yet. Make sure you stop by your nearest Best Buy to pick up your copy. This is actually something I will probably end up getting later for sure.

It seems that these dance and rhythm based games are making an impression on the PC. Logic3 is releasing the first ever dance mat for the PC. The title “Dance, Dance, Dance” will be available as a package with the game and mat and will be on shelves for the Christmas holidays. Along the lines of packages, I’m sure most of you have already seen the Zelda bundle for the Gamecube in stores. The bundle comes with four original Zelda classics, all playable on the Gamecube. The games will include The Legend of Zelda, The Adventures of Link, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask, and one playable demo of Wind Waker. The bundle is still priced at a hundred bucks so stop in your nearest EB Games and get it.

Apparently The Terminator will just not freaking die already. Atari is releasing another title for the awful series that just won’t end. Terminator: Redemption will have third person action, and will also allow you to use cars and such in this one. No word on the plot or premise of the game, but I’m sure it will be awful. Expect this game to be out for the summer of ’04 for all consoles.

You can also expect some cool titles to be out in the next few weeks such as Ninja Gaiden, Deus Ex: Invisible War, 1080 Avalanche, Mission Impossible: Operation Surma, Beyond Good and Evil, Armed and Dangerous, Dragonball Z: Budokai 2, NWN: Hordes, iNinja, Curse, and much more. There is not that much that is interesting to me that will be released this month, so I’m holding off. Oh and something else that has been intriguing me is this Video Game Awards. They are planning to air on Spike TV on Thursday December 4th at 9pm or 8pm, so make sure you stop by the Spike TV website and vote for your favorite games.

In Snackbar News, a lot of maintenance has been going on with the site as Cone continues to work hard to please you, the gamer. Also it’s great to hear that Dots is doing much better now, we would like to thank all of you who stopped by in the forums to wish her a speedy recovery.

In case you haven’t noticed, Pickle has been gaming on LIVE a lot lately with Crimson Skies (FREAKING RULES!!). I also wanted to let you know that I have a lot of games up on deck to be reviewed such as Manhunt, XIII, NFS: Underground, and Counter-Strike. So look out for some reviews from me and the crew. I know for a fact that Cone has several to put up, and I know Pickle is dropping it like its HOT!! I’m OUT!!

Call of Duty

November 26, 2003

PC / Reviews / by Marco Ortega /

[floatleft]http://www.snackbar-games.com/images/reviews/callofduty/cover.jpg[/floatleft]With the ever numerous titles in the World War II FPS genre, Call of Duty stands out to be a true gem in the PC gaming world. I am a huge fanatic of the entire history of the second Great War, and this game allows me to become one of those soldiers. I really enjoy games that let you experience the adventure by putting you into the soldier’s shoes. Call of Duty gives you a great sense of teamwork while fighting against the enemy. There are many aspects of this game that I really enjoyed that made my experience worth the money.

Unlike Medal of Honor, COD was not a lone ranger type of a game. This was a game where teamwork was a must in order to complete missions. If certain things were not executed as one unit, then someone was going to die. You literally can shape the way things turn out at the end. It can be you and the commanding officer, or it can be you and other fellow soldiers still standing. COD has uniquely created a different storyline that really makes it stand out above the others. Not only can you play as an American soldier, but you can also fight the enemy while being a British soldier, and a Russian soldier. COD also uses similar story structures from movies such as Band of Brothers, and Enemy at the Gates. If you have seen Enemy at the Gates, you will see the similarities when playing through the Russian part of COD. The small detailed cinematics in COD really were amazing to see.

The superiority in COD lay in its AI and graphics. Controlling was just as common as your regular FPS game, and its speed of movement was just right for gameplay. Not too fast and not too slow. Before you are actually deployed into the war, you are put into basic training. During basic training you are put through movement and weapons training. This training will help you familiarize yourself with combat tactics and controls. The graphics were absolutely gorgeous to see, from up close to far landscapes and skylines. Every level was uniquely designed accurately to stay true to historical fact. From storming the ruined city of Stalingrad, to parachuting into France at night, it was quite a beautiful and colorful scenery to watch. Waterfalls, facial expressions, and bombardments from a distance were very intricate with detail. Their actions were always different, and they would always call for reinforcements if they spotted you. Weapons and vehicles were designed very smoothly, along with the terrain and buildings. COD by far has impressed me with superior graphics in the World War II genre.

[floatright]http://www.snackbar-games.com/images/reviews/callofduty/ss05_thumb.jpg[/floatright]As you change shoes from being an American soldier to a British or Russian your weapons and game play become different on many levels. Before every mission you are briefed as to you what objectives you and your squad must carry out in order to be successful. In the process of infiltrating an enemy occupied position, you and your squad must move accordingly and provide covering and suppressing fire, explosive placement, and stealth movement. Sometimes it’s your obligation to take point if not your squad will not move. I found that to be annoying at times. It’s quite interesting to see the amount of importance it is to actually take cover and move in the prone position. Germans are armed to the teeth with MG42’s, MP40’s and potatoe smashers (grenade sticks). If you think you can rush the Germans full on, standing up by yourself, you are sorely mistaken.

Patience is a virtue in this game. Using objects and the environment to protect you is vital to your existence. Speaking of trying to survive, there were many times where my objective was to hold a position until reinforcements arrived. During most of these missions it was common for my squad to get in my way when moving through a building where Germans seemed to never stop attacking. There were many times where some of my fellow soldiers would throw a grenade right under my feet. Needless to say it was ridiculous. By the way if you’re thinking of solving that problem by killing your fellow squad member to move about, the game does not tolerate team killing. If you fire upon any of your fellow soldiers, then the mission will end and will tell you that TKing (Team Killing) is not permitted. You then restart the mission from the beginning.

COD is best played in room with the lights off and the volume cranked. Hearing the sounds of planes coming down and riddling your boat, and also the sound of AA guns firing into the night sky was a great touch. The sound is crisp and clear with so much variety. You can hear a group of tanks coming from certain directions, teams of Germans giving orders, and so on. Another unique aspect to the games sound was the added voice overs of Hollywood actors Giovanni Ribisi (Saving Private Ryan, Gone in Sixty Seconds), and Jason Statham (Snatch and The Italian Job) which was a nice touch. If you know about WWII movies or even games then you should also know that they all have great musical scores to them. None other than Composer Michael Giacchino added to the games great musical score.

[floatleft]http://www.snackbar-games.com/images/reviews/callofduty/ss10_thumb.jpg[/floatleft]At the end of the day, playing Call of Duty was an extremely great experience. I was completely amazed by every level and the different variety of things that each mission offered. It was fun, exciting, and very difficult at times which sometimes made it frustrating. If you get tired of playing the missions and just want some good old fashioned deathmatch then proceed by hitting up the multiplayer online. Online multiplayer gametypes vary from Deathmatch, Team Deathmatch, and Behind Enemy Lines to Search and Destroy and Retrieval. The games are pretty much self explanatory. Call of Duty gives you, the gamer, a different and unique feel to the entire WWII FPS genre. By all means, if you don’t have Call of Duty, get it, this game puts many previous WWII campaign based games to shame. This is the holiday season so make it a point to add this to your PC gaming library.

BIG WEEK!!

November 18, 2003

News / by Marco Ortega /

Yes Snackbarians its a never ending cycle. As the days for Christmas get shorter, the list for games just get longer. This is a big week for games as some HOT titles are released. Mario Kart: Double Dash for GC, XIII for the PC, Counter-Strike: CZ for the Xbox, Final Fantasy X2 (Pickle is drooling already) for the PS2, I-Ninja (Cone will be all up on that) and many other titles will hit the stores tommorrow. So make sure you check out your local EB Games to get your copies.

This freaked me the hell out when I stumbled upon it on Ubisofts website. I was in total freaking AWE!! Can you believe they will release this as an MMORPG. I will be all up on this, I hope Pickle will too. I can already see it, “I need an exit Pickle..freaking Agents everywhere!!”. OH MY THIS WILL BE AWESOME. I hope it does’nt end up like Galaxies though.

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