PlayStation 2

SingStar Pop

April 12, 2007

PlayStation 2 / Reviews / by Graham Russell /

Karaoke games have always been for parties and large groups, and SingStar Pop has embraced this. Sony’s London studio didn’t go the same route as Karaoke Revolution: American Idol and put in a rich single-player mode; instead they tweaked the multiplayer to make it as good as possible.

This game plays almost exactly like Sony’s last release, SingStar Rocks! , but this was intentional. The two games interact, as discs can be swapped out in the middle of a game to allow a player to use the other set of songs if they’d like. This works well, and the load times are minimal.

SingStar Pop‘s song list is much friendlier to younger people and lower voices, with more songs like Franz Ferdinand’s Take Me Out and only a few tunes from Britney Spears and Cyndi Lauper thrown in.

For each song that has one, Sony London uses its music video behind the notes. It’s a great novelty at first, and the video quality isn’t horrible, but for those who get annoyed, the system supports the EyeToy, so you can watch yourself. You know, or point it at a blank wall.

The system is much friendlier to newbies and marginally talented singers at the lower difficulties than the Karaoke Revolution games, which is great. With effort, even mediocre crooners can occasionally attain the duckie symbol of A

Burnout: Dominator

March 30, 2007

PlayStation 2 / Reviews / by Jason Dobson /

Since it was originally announced, Electronic Arts’ Burnout Dominator was billed as fan service, a gift meant as a tribute to those players who had purchased and followed the series that has, to this day, become synonymous with high octane console racing. However, like a gift given with more good intention than sense of style, Burnout Dominator is best accepted with a smile and a nod before quickly being exchanged for store credit when EA and developer Criterion turn away.

Without question, the Burnout series hit its stride with Burnout 3: Takedown, as the franchise’s visceral marriage of speed and explosive wreckage took console racing and player expectations to new heights. This has proved to be both a blessing and curse for Burnout, as even the follow up Revenge, while entirely competent in its own right, failed to surpass Takedown despite a number of tweaks and new gameplay additives. However while Revenge was called out for its somewhat unwelcome additions to the Takedown formula, in Dominator for both the PlayStation 2 and PSP Criterion has perhaps listened too closely to critics and cut too deep into its engineering, removing many of the features that make Burnout so attractive.

The game includes flashes of both Takedown and Revenge, with the inclusion of rivals and crashbreakers, though the latter feels ‘nerfed’ and largely inconsequential, lacking much of the impact felt in the previous two entries. In addition, while aftertouch has been left in, Revenge‘s controversial traffic checking has been cut out entirely. Also gone are crash events, which had become a fan favorite since Takedown with their almost tactical take on the game’s more destructive elements. Burnout Dominator feels like a rather experimental mishmash of features cobbled together over a weekend as a quick cash grab rather than a self proclaimed tribute to one of the industry’s most noteworthy racing franchises.

This isn’t to say that the game is terrible, just that it feels like an unnatural step backwards for the series. In fact, Dominator comes off as an evolutionary cast away, harboring many elements from the first two games in the series while still exhibiting bit and pieces of what was to come later.

The nuts and bolts of the game lie in the game’s World Tour mode, where a collection of series offer a handful of events to be completed in order to score points, unlock new cars, and earn trophies. Each of these series are broken out by a type of vehicle, beginning with older classics, and progressing through coupes, muscle cars, hot rods, and more. There is a healthy selection of cars to earn in each class, though by forcing the player to use only certain types of cars in every race makes even the most robust catalog of vehicles feel claustrophobic.

Dominator‘s one key contribution to the franchise is what is called Maniac mode, a play on the return of the burnout from earlier entries, whereby a player is encouraged to drive as dangerously as possible in order to build up the boost meter, and then burn through it all in a single go without letting up. Doing so while also continuing to drive erratic will build it up again, creating a burnout chain for more bonus points and multipliers. This makes for not only an intense experience, but also one that is constantly moving at blurring speeds. It’s all about testing your reaction time and ability to look ahead several car lengths while simultaneously keeping your car from ending up wrapped around a pole, ledge, or another car.

The problem is that this mode effectively deemphasizes Burnout‘s niche, and lacks the emotionally purging qualities for which the series’ destructive qualities are known. In fact, crashing in Dominator can spell certain defeat, whereas in the previous two games it could give you a strategic advantage. In some ways, this game is the anti-Burnout.

In addition, other negatives persist, such as the lack of any online multiplayer, an excusable omission for the PlayStation 2, but a glaring oversight on the PSP, which has only ad hoc support.

There is some fun to be had in Dominator, but it’s a pale offering compared to the games to come before it. Seemingly destined to be a footnote in the franchise rather than an entry of any real significance, most players are advised to pass this one up in favor of Burnout 3: Takedown, Burnout Legends, or Burnout Revenge, each of which can probably be had for less than what this game asks for brand new. Only series completionists need consider adding this one to their libraries; anyone else should consider Dominator as a rental if curiosity cannot be satiated, at least until the franchise’s next ‘real’ sequel emerges.

Arena Football: Road to Glory

March 23, 2007

PlayStation 2 / Reviews / by Graham Russell /

The Arena Football League is a lot like the NFL’s little brother. While trying to be different, the teams ultimately get the wannabe backups and washed up veterans the NFL doesn’t want.

EA’s first Arena Football game ultimately felt like the best development teams weren’t touching this thing either. Is the second installment any better?

First of all, the graphics are painfully last-gen. EA Tiburon has made a habit of recycling last year’s graphics for the NCAA series, but Road to Glory looks more like Madden 2004 than ’06. The sound, on the other hand, is almost nonexistent. There is no commentary, and during the game all you hear is a muffled stadium announcer. At least the music isn’t bad.

The menu system seems different just for difference’s sake. While EA Sports game menus are often boring and uniform, they are at least intuitive and easy to understand. Arena Football throws this out of the window in favor of a weird, arcade-style feel.

Of course, the most important part of this game: how does it play? The game has all the Arena quirks, for better or worse. For those more familiar with regular football, the positional restrictions can be confusing, but it does add to the game’s authenticity. The simple playbooks are less intimidating but ultimately feel shallow and limited. I could talk about the gameplay itself, but it’s just eight-player Madden– nothing special here. The hits do feel a bit harder, and the post-play animations help somewhat to give the game its “extreme” nature, but it lacks the EA polish.

The multiplayer is adequately engaging, but nothing stands out as special or unique. For most games, to have online play and multi-tap support for 8 players would be something to note, but it seems standard and obvious coming from EA.

Road to Glory retails for $30, but even at this lower price, it feels cheap. The game has advertisements on virtually every menu, and the barebones black-and-white instruction manual reminds you that yes, this is a budget title. But did EA use any cash on making the game better?

The two noticeable additions are the af2 League and a mini-game. The minor league teams do allow fans in those areas to play as their hometown favorite, but there’s little noticeable impact on the gameplay. The mini-game, on the other hand, showcases everyone’s favorite part of arena football: field goal kicking.

Wait, what?

Yes, that’s right: one of the main features of the game is, for the most part, a Training Camp mini-game that’s been in Madden for years. It’s mildly fun, but this isn’t a party game solution by any stretch of the imagination.

One major problem with this release: The Arena Football League has changed its rules for 2007, allowing more one-way players and a more NFL-like experience. This game doesn’t incorporate these new rules, so the one thing it has going for it– an authentic AFL experience– is flawed.

It sounds a bit unfair to compare this game to the behemoth franchises of Madden and Street, but the reality is that there’s almost nothing left after EA snapped up the league licenses, and there really isn’t a large market out there that buys three football games a year. This game is solid, if unspectacular. It’s just that no one really needed this game.

Sure, Road to Glory is a budget title, but it’s not competing with the latest Madden. You can get a more complete football experience with a used copy of last year’s edition, and the “ironman” concept is pulled off much more admirably by the NFL Street team. This game is just for those who want AFL teams and rosters. This series just seems to be made as part of their effort to make sure there are no league licenses left for other companies. Don’t get me wrong: this game’s not bad. It’s just that Tiburon already makes two better ones. Glory? Eh, EA’s not there yet.

God of War II

March 23, 2007

PlayStation 2 / Reviews / by Roger Helgeson /

When I first approached God of War in 2005, I found myself impressed by many aspects of the game. From its ability to throw a scant but emotionally-impacting story at the player without bogging him down, its epic battles, and its graphics that seemed to push the boundaries of what the PlayStation 2 was capable, to its cinematography and art design, camera-work, and likable but morally ambiguous protagonist Kratos, the game genuinely polished and improved on every element of the action genre. In a word: I was impressed by everything.

I was also left with a longing desire for more. Thankfully, God of War II delivers in every way, with a few features that are a little worse for wear and a few that have been improved on a bit. The game is, again, epic in both scope and narrative. The graphics manage to impress even in this current age of HD and next-generation consoles. Here, players get a real sense of size and scale. The game is, in many ways, Olympian. And rightly so. The only apparent drawback is that the camera is a lot less intuitive than it was the first time around, sometimes leaving the player to his own devices and making leaps of faith to platforms just off the screen.

If there was a shortcoming in God of War, it was its lack of boss battles. The game did have a number of minibosses and a couple of chapter bosses, but overall, it was sparse. Not anymore. Kratos fights everything from demon soldiers to gorgons to Cerberus to Theseus. The game is intent on throwing challenge after challenge at the player, and some of the boss battles are rather elaborate. In the game’s opening sequence, Kratos fights a rampaging statue of the colossus – perhaps the perfect way to get the player’s blood pumping and offer a sense of how impressive a warrior Kratos is.

God of War II is also quite violent, with Kratos unflinchingly decapitating, eviscerating, blinding, and crushing everything and everyone he comes across, cursing out Titans and Gods alike, and merely being a violent whirlwind racing through Olympia toward his goal.

Minigames feed into Kratos’ vices as well: there is, again, a sex minigame which will reward Kratos with an abundance of red orbs if his performance is up to snuff, and another will task Kratos with collecting twenty Cyclops eyes. Watching your character dig the eye out of a Cyclops with his blade is not really for the squeamish.

In the end, though, this is essentially the same game as God of War with more packed in: more carnage, more involved puzzles, new magic and weapons, new extremely beautiful areas, more collectables and unlockable minigames, a Titan Mode difficulty, unlockable costumes, and more bosses and enemies than before. Those who enjoyed the first game will feel right at home without feeling either bored or tricked out of a new experience. Those that haven’t will enjoy it, too. There are a few problems – as said, the camera can be a bit annoying at times, and there have been reports of serious glitches (so do yourself a favor and use multiple save slots), but ultimately none of the flaws are either too game-breaking or detracting to the overall experience which is, in a word, impressive.

Karaoke Revolution: American Idol

March 19, 2007

PlayStation 2 / Reviews / by Ben Jacobs /

I imagine, at one point, there were simultaneous meetings at both FOX and Konami. FOX was sitting on the American Idol IP hoping someone would make a good game with singing. Konami was sitting on Karaoke Revolution wishing they could come up with a good single player story mode for their series. That was when a stroke of genius came to both sides (most likely Konami first, FOX second. Afterall, these are the same guys who cancelled Firefly). Let’s take our ridiculously popular IP and slap it on an established series!

That’s right. Take everything you love and hate about the Karaoke Revolution series and add in Simon Cowell and you have the American Idol edition. While previous Karaoke Revolution games sufferred from a lack of single player cohesiveness, now you can take your customized singer through a campaign to become the new American Idol. And let’s be honest, the entire time you were playing the Country Edition, you wished you were on Nashville Star, so it’s a natural progression. All the characters are here, Simon, Randy, and Paula, each with their own distinct personalities. Simon is going to tell you how awful you are, Paula will drunkenly comment on your wardrobe, and Randy will make the most random comments about your pitch that may or may not be accurate. He may or may not also call you his ‘dawg’. Just what you wanted!

The song list is actually kinda great. There are recent hits from Christina Aguilera, and if you try, you can hit those notes. However, fans of the show will appreciate the range of musical styles. Piano Man is just a damn fun song to sing, and I dare anybody to not do a William Hung impression with She Bangs; I know I did.

Anyone who has played the previous KR entries will feel at home with the gameplay, as you are still judged both on pitch as well as timing. Unfortunately, not much has been fixed in this version of Karaoke Revolution, and much of the time you can’t just sing the song and win. You have to sing a note and then adjust it to go at just the right pitch in order to score. It can be frustrating and takes a bit of practice to figure it all out. Personally, I ignore the score and belt out off-key renditions that would make FOX happy to put me on their gag reel. And oh yeah, if you have an Eye Toy, American Idol, you can use the camera to put your face in the game, literally. You can create a little 3D model of yourself to use as your avatar. It also feeds the camera image into the monitors on stage while you sing. Classy.

What really hurts the game is the presentation. While the performances are well animated and varied, the limited amount of judge responses gets stale very quickly. After your 5th performance, you really are going to hear about all Randy, Paula, and Simon have to say. The menus are bland, and a lot of the time, you really don’t get the American Idol excitement. When judging is announced, you just see a bunch of names on a list disappear and hope you’re not one of them. Ryan Seacrest doesn’t lend anything to this game, except for sound bites pulled directly from the TV broadcast. There is no exciting fully animated sequences where you watch the votes come in, like on the show. There is no “good bye song”. It’s just “whoops, you tried. Go again?”.

That actually sums up how I feel about this game perfectly. Please, try again Konami, you’re so damn close. ‘American Idoling’ the Karaoke Revolution formula works so well for the series, and a more engaging single player adventure would really make the game a must buy for both fans of the show and Karaoke Revolution fans. For now, I say give it a rent. You’ll see all you want to see in just a single play-through.

← Previous Entries

Next Entries →