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Capcom has started out 2005 with a bang. [i]Resident Evil 4[/i] is getting rave reviews, and the GameCube has yet another title that makes it a must-own system. In February, Capcom hopes to continue that success with the release of [i]Shadow of Rome[/i]. [i]Shadow of Rome[/i] is a third-person action game set in Rome and could easily be compared to [i]Gladiator[/i]. [i]Shadow of Rome[/i] stars a pair of main characters-Agrippa, whose style lends well to in-your-face action, and Octavianus, whose favors the stealthy style of gameplay. The duo is on a mission to uncover key evidence that will free Agrippa’s father, who has been falsely accused of murdering Caesar and is awaiting execution.

[floatleft]http://www.snackbar-games.com/images/previews/shadowofrome/ss01_thumb.jpg[/floatleft]Despite the game’s similarity to other action titles, [i]Shadow of Rome[/i] sports a full-blown combat system that has a full gamut of weapons and attacks, and even has my favorite: interactive environments. For fans of the ancient chariots, [i]Shadow of Rome[/i] comes complete with chariot racing. Chariot racing comes with all the intensity that you remember from [i]Ben Hur[/i] (did I just date myself?). With chariots that take damage, you can expect these races to be heated.

Because this game is set in Rome, there are the obligatory arena battles. Instead of standard fare hack and slash, [i]Shadow of Rome[/i] requires a little bit of thinking to be a successful gladiator. Early foes will go down quickly without much thought, but later enemies will require thought and planning in order to kill. The combo system plays a nice role in matches with a large number of foes, and weapons will always be useful. Lay down some impressive moves, and the crowd may just toss you some weapons.

With a choice in main characters, it is safe to say that by selecting Agrippa you will be facing guards and other enemies head on. Octavianus, being the stealthy one, is going to require a little more patience and care, but he also has a bag full of tricks. Listening through doors, peeping through keyholes, and even stealing other peoples clothes are some of the methods you can employ as Octavianus to get information. You will also need to solve puzzles with your surroundings in order to take out guards.

[floatright]http://www.snackbar-games.com/images/previews/shadowofrome/ss12_thumb.jpg[/floatright][i]Shadow of Rome[/i] makes use of the technology behind [i]Onimusha 3[/i]’s fantastic visuals, so you know things will look topnotch. All of the characters in [i]Shadow of Rome[/i] feature well-done models and a very high level of detail, with the animals really looking crisp.

2004 was a great year for the gaming industry, and it seems that most developers are in a great rhythm with the current consoles. They have learned how to harness all the power that these little machines have, and developers like Capcom are churning out some high-quality titles. You can expect 2005 to be an even better year, and with titles like [i]Shadow of Rome[/i] on the horizon, it is no wonder why.

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I was in EB the other day and my friends there hooked me up with the demo for the newest game in the Jak and Daxter series, Jak 3. Since the J&D games are one of my favorite series of games I spent more than enough time checking it out this week.

At lot of people didn’t seem to like the open ended, GTA clone style city hub aspect that was implemented in Jak 2. While I hated some of the non-platforming missions I thought it really stepped up the game. It did make me sad that the platforming levels were very few and far between. The addition of guns and the ability to get into high speed vehicles and speed through traffic was good for a little bit of mischievous fun.

[tableleft]It is obvious that there were some pretty big changes between the original and Jak 2. Are we going to see any similar changes in the newest release? Not that I can tell. The demo showcased 3 different levels of the new game. The first was a vehicle based mission (as long as you didn’t get it stuck which I managed to do on multiple occasions) where you drive around a sand dune desert and hunt very large metal heads. I have never driven a dune buggy but the vehicle was as out of control and reckless as I would expect my real life time with a dune buggy would be. [/tableleft][tableright][img]http://www.snackbar-games.com/images/previews/jak3/ss26_thumb.jpg[/img][/tableright]

The second mission was a semi platforming level that focused more on killing enemies while making jumps with odd camera angles. It had some interesting puzzle aspects that caught me by surprise. I won’t touch on them so you can figure it out on your own. Don’t think Prince of Persia puzzles because it is nothing that complex.

The third mission could be started independently or it started automatically upon beating the second one. In this mission, there is a vehicle on a set of train tracks. These tracks have numerous bridges that are currently in the up position so the train will crash into them. Your job is to traverse the mountainous terrain while shooting the targets that lower the bridges. You have a timer at the top of the screen that shows you how much time you have until the vehicle is going to plow into the next bridge.

A few of the minor things I noticed in the demo were the new cast of metal head enemies as well as the return of a few from Jak 2. You were also equipped with more than the 3 guns from Jak 2. The demo had me packing 5 guns. How does this work since there are only 4 directions on the d-pad? Pressing up on the d-pad selects the yellow gun. An additional press up will switch to the second yellow gun. A third press takes you back to the first yellow gun. Simple enough. The guns of like color do share ammo though so be careful.

[tableleft][img]http://www.snackbar-games.com/images/previews/jak3/ss15_thumb.jpg[/img][/tableleft][tableright]Jak is also back with a vengeance and a slew of new eco powers. Instead of just harnessing dark eco powers, Jak now has light eco powers that do things such as revive his life. Think of it as a health potion. The dark eco powers and moves you learned in Jak 2 are also back and that makes clearing a room full of metal heads a piece of cake.[/tableright]

It also appears that the graphics and game engine is the same one used in Jak 2 and Ratchet and Clank 2. The v-sync issues that annoyed me in Jak 2 are still there, but I can get past that since the story is so damn good. The story does pick up right where Jak 2 left off and continues on to who knows where. Naughty Dog has done a fantastic job with the Jak series and the storyline and I expect Jak 3 to be no exception.

Jak 3 looks like it will be available the day after Halo 2, November 10th. I currently have it preordered and as much as I love Halo, I will still make time for my platforming habit.

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With the holiday season just around the corner, many developers and designers are going back to the drawing boards. After the release of MOH: Rising Sun on consoles, EA Games was taking the MOH series into the Pacific for a complete change of scenery. With the announcement of MOH Pacific Assault I expected EA to amaze everyone with another stunning title. After viewing the in game footage of MOH PA, I was excited to play the next generation of WWII shooters.

The release of an MOH: PA demo was a complete surprise and I quickly got it downloaded. I was eager to experience the new game engine they were using for the new series, along with countless other upgrades and features they added to PA. What makes the MOH series so unique is the historical accuracy that is implemented in the game. The features that were added to PA required massive research and accuracy let me assure you. With location description, battles, weapons, and even soldier behavior, MOH: PA delivers one of the most intense shooter experiences to hit the shelves this holiday season.

[tableleft][img]http://www.snackbar-games.com/images/previews/mohpa/moh10_thumb.jpg[/img][/tableleft][tableright]The downloadable demo is a single player mission which roughly takes about 10-20 minutes. As you’re used to fighting the Germans in the past MOH series, you’re fighting the fierce Japanese in this go around. You are a Marine soldier who has just been awakened by your sergeant to fend off a Japanese patrol on the Henderson Airfield. As soon as you awake the fighting is very intense. The days of fighting the war alone are finally over, a new feature in MOH: PA is the squad based maneuvering. The squad-based movements are very helpful in a heated battle. For example, you can give commands of covering fire, squad re-group, squad fall back, or squad advance. The beautiful part of this squad based movement is the AI of your squad work independently of each other in order to provide better teamwork. For example, if I am carrying a wounded soldier I am going to need covering fire as I move him to a safe place. So my squad will provide covering fire while strategically moving in order to protect the squad and myself.[/tableright]

The features don’t stop there. Like I said before, if you see an injured soldier you can carry them to a safe place or use your bandages to help heal them. You also don’t have to worry about searching for medical packs anymore. When you find yourself getting riddled with shots, you can call for a corpsman to patch you up. Use it wisely though; you don’t get an unlimited amount. The environments are completely interactive making the surroundings destructive. You may want to think about where to take cover as bullets will destroy or penetrate your cover. The Japanese are very relentless in their attacks; they would rather die than surrender. More often than not, you will meet face to face with bonsai attacks. As we made our way to the actual landing strip, we were met with heavy resistance keeping our pilots from taking off. Our objective was to provide cover for our pilots trying to get off the ground. I was then ordered to get on the fifty cal machine gun and take out any incoming enemy fighters. Once you start picking off Japanese Zero’s, you notice that the enemy planes begin to concentrate their fire on you instead of the planes.

The AI is amazing in this game, along with the new and improved graphics. The “Havoc Physics” enhances the environment with complex lighting, textures, and destructive surroundings. With over 25 single player missions, and 8 huge multiplayer scenarios, Medal of Honor: Pacific Assault is set to make a massive impact on next generation games. From Pearl Harbor to the jungles of Guadalcanal, experience World War II from the boots of a Marine Soldier fighting for victory in the Pacific. Expect Medal of Honor Pacific Assault to revolutionize WWII shooters.

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I recently expressed great joy in being lucky enough to receive a copy of the Metroid Prime/Metroid Prime 2 bonus that is now included with Gamecubes across the nation. I am back to give you my thoughts about the newest game in the Metroid franchise. Unfortunately as a child I didn’t spend much time with Metroid. For some reason the game didn’t appeal to me and seemed to be quite difficult so I passed on it. When Metroid Prime came out for the GC I didn’t have one and despite Pickle’s incessant ranting and raving about how good the game was I never picked it up. Here we are on the verge of the second release and I am about to start it. Regardless, my lack of experience with the franchise has no bearing on the promise that this game shows.

[tableleft]In Echoes you take Samus on a journey on the planet of Aether. Samus is investigating an abandoned Federation ship when an electrical aberration in the atmosphere renders her ship incapacitated. After a crash landing she is attacked by a group of dark creatures known as the Ing Horde. Soon after Samus realizes that the planet has been dimensionally doubled. One portion exists in light and the other in darkness. The Luminoth are the peaceful people of the light who are slowly being killed off by the Ing Horde. In addition to the terrible Ing Horde, Samus finds that a dangerous dark creature is on the loose on the planet and it is growing more lethal as time goes on.[/tableleft][tableright][img]http://www.snackbar-games.com/images/previews/mp2echoes/ss01_thumb.jpg[/img][/tableright]

The things you loved about the original Metroid Prime are back and with them are a few new things. The most drastic change is the addition of a multiplayer mode which allows 4 players to battle it out in standard death match games. No word yet on whether or not the game will make use of the broadband adapter and allow LAN style play similar to what Mario Kart: Double Dash does. Power-ups such as the Space Jump and Grapple Beam are back and bring with them Dark and Light Beams which make use of a all-new ammo system. There are also plenty of other beam weapons, visors, bombs, missiles and suit upgrades.

[tableleft][img]http://www.snackbar-games.com/images/previews/mp2echoes/ss05_thumb.jpg[/img][/tableleft][tableright]I am fully aware that Metroid Prime was never considered a FPS and its control layout is very indicative of this, but I this is the 3rd time I have given a run at this game and its control scheme and I still just can’t get it down. I am sure if I started playing through the original game that I would eventually get it down, but goodness. I am not saying there is anything wrong with the layout of the controls, but rather that it is unique and hard for me to memorize. This is not something I considered a flaw in the first game, but it did help keep me from playing it.[/tableright]

We are almost 2 months away from release of Echoes and I expect more details about the game to be released as we enter the home stretch. Nintendo needs Echoes to do well and with the acclaim that the first game received I don’t think that will be a problem. I can’t say for sure if I will be handling the review of this one or not, but as always we will have thoughts about this game when it hits retail stores near you.