Xbox

Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six 3: Black Arrow

September 3, 2004

[floatleft]http://www.snackbar-games.com/images/reviews/rs3blackarrow/cover.jpg[/floatleft]Team Rainbow is back in this sequel to the blockbuster hit Rainbow Six 3. This time around Team Rainbow has to stop a group of renegade military officers from starting a war in the oil rich regions around the Black Sea. They are attempting to kidnap telemetry and rocket scientists in an effort to swoop in during the war and seize control. It is your job to prevent this from happening and to stop them from developing weapons of mass destruction. That’s right baby, Ding is back.

Black Arrow is a lot more of what you saw in the first game with a few changes. The first thing you may notice is the lack of the .50 Cal. I can only assume they felt this gun carried a heavy advantage so no .50 Cal. No worries though as your arsenal is packed full of an array of weapons to make everyone happy. For the gamers new to R63, it will take a while before you comfortably know which weapons work for your style of playing. It took me a few good long rounds of playing to get this down. A big addition to the game is the gametype called Lone Rush. Lone Rush is a single player race to the finish where you must rush through a level in a specified amount of time. Killing terrorists adds a few seconds to your timer. Kill a hostage and get slapped with a loss in time. Lone Rush is nice addition to the game, but quite difficult.

[floatright]http://www.snackbar-games.com/images/reviews/rs3blackarrow/ss05_thumb.jpg[/floatright]Obviously Black Arrow comes standard with a campaign and 3 difficultly levels as well as multiplayer over Xbox Live. I played my fair share of campaign missions before meeting up with the crew on Live and I have been hooked ever since. Co-op is also back and can be a lot of fun if you want to polish your terrorist hunting skills. Playing on Live is what makes the game fun. The campaigns are ok, but get very repetitive in the long run. Playing with your friends on Live does not get old, unless of course you are on the wrong end of my M16. I can see how that would get old. (I can feel our crew laughing at me right now as they try to imagine the last time I got a high number of kills in a match)

From what I can tell, the graphics engine was reused from the last Rainbow Six game but Pretzel and Manchester U swear that the first game looks better. At any rate, the graphics are crisp and clean and there is not a lack of detail that I noticed anywhere.

The aural aspect of the game was also highly impressive. Hearing doors open and close or grenades being thrown would give you a directional idea of where people might be. The use of the headset was a joy as it also helped with the directional sound even though it isn’t very comfortable to wear for those of us that wear glasses.

[floatleft]http://www.snackbar-games.com/images/reviews/rs3blackarrow/ss08_thumb.jpg[/floatleft]While I feel that the single player campaigns plus the multiplayer fun and the low $40 price point make this a nobrainer for most people, the game seemed a little buggy. When you have joined a server on Live and try to send a voice message to someone and the game starts, you can’t hear or speak to anyone during the game. It seems this has happened to quite a few members of our squad. Leaving the game and rejoining it fixes the problem. We also encountered a problem during a game of retrieval where the canister disappeared into the ground after being dropped. Keep in mind that the game can be patched via Live so I would expect Ubisoft to correct any problems that are brought to light very soon. I was also informed that the original R63 had large quantities of downloadable content available shortly after release. We are now a few weeks after release for Black Arrow and there has been no content announced. I hope Ubisoft has something lined up for us very soon.

The bottom line is that I was a skeptic about enjoying Black Arrow and I am now a fan who can’t stop playing. The minor glitches do get annoying, but they are in such small instances that it isn’t a huge issue. I also expect them to be corrected fairly soon. The online play of the game keeps you coming back long after you have completed the single player and it is the real reason to own the game in the first place. Rainbow Six 3: Black Arrow is definitely a must have for Xbox Live users and an all around quality game from a studio who has been delivering solid titles all year long. Awesome job Ubisoft.

Full Spectrum Warrior

July 14, 2004

Reviews / Xbox / by Michael Land /

[floatleft]http://www.snackbar-games.com/images/reviews/fullspectrumwarrior/cover.jpg[/floatleft]Let me start by saying that this is a squad based tactical strategy style game and not a first person shooter. If you want up close, zoom in, hands on killing, this is not the game for you. If you like the idea of having to think before you move and decide how to get from point A to point B without getting riddled with large caliber bullets, you should definitely check out Full Spectrum Warrior.

At the beginning, you are thrown into a training exercise to get you familiar with the controls and the tactics you will need to master. You are in control of two, four member teams, Alpha and Bravo. You spend about 30 to 45 minutes learning how to move your teams, position them to out flank the enemy, and even use grenade launchers. After the training you are deployed into some made up Middle Eastern country where your convoy is attacked. If you have seen the movie Black Hawk Down, the city streets of the game resemble those of the movie. From this point you are given different objectives as you move through the game. You have to make your way to rendezvous with some captain, then lead some soldier to some Stinger missiles he has to disarm, and then clear a street of enemies so a convoy can pass. The game tells you where you need to go so you are not just running around in circles.

The graphics are better than most. Not the best I have ever seen, but still well done. When the characters talk, their mouth movements seem to match. Characters walking or running is much more realistic than even motion capture sports games. Programmers apparently spent some time putting in a lot of detail. When your team is up against a wall and your team leader peeks out to see if there are any “tangos” or bad guy, and he starts shooting at you, you can see the shards of rock being blasted from the wall. Also if you do screw up and you do get shot it shows, in slow motion, you getting ripped up as the bullets pass through you.

[floatright]http://www.snackbar-games.com/images/reviews/fullspectrumwarrior/ss04_thumb.jpg[/floatright]The sounds through out the game are good. From tanks rolling by to rocket propelled grenades (RPGs) whizzing past your head, you are pulled right into the action. As the enemy crosses the street to take cover you can even hear him yelling in some Arabic sounding jibber jabber.

The controls take a little time to get used to, but on the back of the instruction book is a cheat sheet for all of the commands. Some of the buttons are multi-use depending if you push or push and hold. Left analog stick is your formation movement control. You use it to position four circles that represent your men, and then press A to initiate the move. The right analog stick is your camera. It takes a little getting used to as well. If you move it around too fast the game will freak out and just keep the camera spinning around your squad. At any point you can press the black button to access your GPS and get enemy locations and objective locations. Overall it’s not that difficult and it only takes a little time to get the hang of it.

There are two levels of difficulty. The lower difficulty is not all that hard as long as you stay behind cover and not just run down an open alley. This is not just a mindless, run-around-and-kill-everything type game. You do have to concentrate and think before you move. There can be an enemy around any corner waiting to put a cap in your a… rear. There are no shields, or energy boosts. Your characters are human. They can be shot, but if it is serious enough they are down for the count, but not always dead. That means that one of the remaining three soldiers has to carry him and now you are down to only two shooters. Also your team moves more slowly due to one having to carry another. As you move deeper into the game the enemy develops better aim and a more accurate shot. If one or more of your men are killed, you have a choice to either restart the level or jump into a replay. This is one of the cooler features of the game. You jump in starting at the last save point and it will replay your every move. At any point you can jump in at take over.

[floatleft]http://www.snackbar-games.com/images/reviews/fullspectrumwarrior/ss11_thumb.jpg[/floatleft]Of course it is always fun to kill bad guys. Especially when you get one hiding behind a car and you give the order for a grenade launcher attack. Then BLAMO… the car is six pieces and the enemy is 8 pieces. I have never been that good at the quick aim and shoot type games. In this game you only have to tell your men when to shoot and what direction.

Not everyone will like this game. If you love Halo, you will probably hate this game. If you like Ghost Recon, but was never good about getting those head shots you should love this game. This game has removed the gamers need to control the movement and shooting of each individual character, but has maintained the strategy. Since it is such a different style of gameplay I suggest you rent it first. If you aren’t into the game renting thing then look for a pre-owned copy because if you pay the 50 bones and hate it you are going to be a little angry.

Egg Mania: Eggstreme Madness

July 9, 2004

Reviews / Xbox / by Lauren Rasco /

[floatleft]http://www.snackbar-games.com/images/reviews/eggmania/cover.jpg[/floatleft]Egg Mania is nothing special when it comes to puzzle games. There is nothing that puts it a huge step above the rest, but I really like it. There is just something so addicting about playing it that makes you want to keep on playing it until hours have gone by and you are still sitting there mashing buttons and building towers…

Like I said, nothing all that special about Egg Mania. It is a puzzle game a lot like Tetris, but backward. You flip and position blocks to build a tower, but your lines don’t go away as you make them, they make your tower stronger and taller so that you can reach you ultimate goal… the blimp thingy that says you’re the winner.

There are two modes to play in, Egg Mania and then there are all the Extra Modes. Now, in my opinion they should have called them eggstra modes, but then I am not a game developer am I? In Egg Mania there are eight levels to compete in, each getting slightly, but not much harder than the one that precedes it. Your goal is to build the tallest, but most stable tower and get to the top before your CPU (or live person) opponent. The blocks fall out of the sky and you catch them, flip them, and move them around to the position you like. At first this task is pretty easy to accomplish, but then they introduce bombs to throw at one another, baddies that pop up and knock you off of your tower, hammers that break your tower down, and more baddies that steal your blocks. There are also things that help you build as well. A shoe that allows you to jump higher to retrieve your falling pieces and a token that helps your tower fill in its gaps. The nice thing is that unlike Tetris, a gap in your structure is not permanent. You can go lower and fill in your holes if you get a piece that will fit. Remember, the key is stability. If you just build a tall slender tower, I assure you that you will be sitting on the ground in a heap of rubble while the other person is winning. There is a meter at the bottom of your screen that lets you know how stable your tower is. Keep an eye on it, it’s a handy little device. The sad thing is that there are only eight levels to compete in and then Egg Mania is over. Too short, really.

[floatright]http://www.snackbar-games.com/images/reviews/eggmania/ss03_thumb.jpg[/floatright]The Extra Modes offer a selection of five mini games. The first is my favorite – BOMB mode. In bomb mode you play through eight levels like in Egg Mania, but the point isn’t to build, it is to destroy. You catch bombs and throw them at your opponent’s already existing tower as they do the same to you. The first person to fall into the water under the tower is the loser. They too get more complicated as you can catch blocks and rebuild your tower in the higher levels. There is a definite art to bomb throwing. The longer you hold onto the bomb, the quicker it blows up when you throw it across the screen, but hold it too long and you will be blown up by your own bomb.

The other modes don’t stand out as much as the bomb mode does. There is a solo mode where you can play alone to get the highest score. There is a survival mode where you play until you lose, the further you get without losing, the higher your score. There is a custom mode that lets you build your own mini game, so there is potential for some fun there. The last mode is the tournament mode in which up to eight people can compete in. This would make a fun party game.

[floatleft]http://www.snackbar-games.com/images/reviews/eggmania/ss06_thumb.jpg[/floatleft]The controls in Egg Mania are a bit weird. It takes a little getting used to. There is a practice mode that teaches you how to play the game. I recommend using it to learn. Like I said, the controls are just a little weird. Just an example of this, to jump you don’t push a button, you push the direction up. That took the most getting used to. There are several characters to choose from, all eggs of course. Overall, Egg Mania is a fun game to play, that can be very addicting. If you like puzzle games, and especially if you like Tetris I think you should give Egg Mania a try.

Metal Slug 3

July 8, 2004

Reviews / Xbox / by Chris Rasco /

[floatleft]http://www.snackbar-games.com/images/reviews/metalslug3/cover.jpg[/floatleft]Metal Slug 3 is a port of the fantastic Neo Geo game that has been a franchise favorite of many gamers for many years. The Xbox is an unlikely candidate for the port since most shooters end up on the PS2, but I am grateful that it came out in the first place. I have been an avid fan of Metal Slug for many years and I have regrettably not kept up with the series in recent days. I imported a copy of Metal Slug for my PS1 many years ago and have not had a Metal Slug fix since I sold my PS1. Enter Metal Slug 3 for Xbox.

The nice thing about the shooter genre is that it can take on many forms. Metal Slug is essentially the same type of game as Ikaruga and the R-Type games, but they are presented much differently and I think it gives the genre a nice variation that keeps it fresh. Metal Slug would have to be my favorite series by far in the shooter category.

In Metal Slug 3 you battle your way through 5 frustrating missions in an attempt to defeat the evil General Morden. I say attempt because in all likelihood you will not actually defeat him. What I am trying to say is that this game is hard. I am not sure if it is actually this hard or if I lack the skills to make any reasonable progress on games in this genre despite my love for them. I say that in jest because Dots and I did make it to mission 5 and I am getting increasingly closer to completing it on my own, but not without a little colorful use of the English language.

[floatright]http://www.snackbar-games.com/images/reviews/metalslug3/ss01_thumb.jpg[/floatright]The graphics are just like the original from what I can tell. Simple cartoonish 2d backgrounds with 2D sprite based characters in the foreground. Nothing spectacular, but then again this is a port of an arcade game that came out about 4 years ago.

The game does feel a little on the short side with only 5 missions and anyone that may be an expert at shooters could possible beat this game in one sitting. Once again, it’s an arcade port and arcade games typically don’t take an abundant amount of time to beat otherwise nobody would attempt it. (by nobody, I mean most normal people)

When SNK picked the Xbox for the port I have to wonder if they actually considered that the Xbox control had triggers that typically work very well for shooting applications. If so, they just opted to ignore them. MS3 allows for some minor control tweaking but my hands got very tired from hitting the fire button. No you can’t hold it down and fire, you must push it very rapidly and with it being the X button, it got very tiring. I would have loved to see a fully customizable button map setting, but you only got to customize a few of the additional buttons that were used in-frequently.

[floatleft]http://www.snackbar-games.com/images/reviews/metalslug3/ss03_thumb.jpg[/floatleft]If you have played any Metal Slug game before then you are familiar with the style of gameplay you can expect. You play 1 or 2 player co-op and basically run through the level shooting everything that moves and many things that don’t. As you progress through levels there are many different paths to take, some are obvious and others are not. You will be accompanied by special vehicles to make the trek easier. Some of them include METAL SLUG, Camel Slug, Rebel Armor, Slug Mariner, Ostrich Slug and more. There are 10 scattered throughout the game. As you complete each level, you are allowed to start from there in later games so it isn’t like you have to complete the entire game on 4 men like some games I have played recently. Continues do dump you back at the beginning of the level though, even if the other player is still alive you have to wait until they die to join back in.

Despite the complaints I have with this game being ungodly hard and the button configuration MS3 is an awesome port from the arcade. It delivers the original arcade experience in the comfort of your home. I would definitely recommend MS3 to any fans of the series or anyone looking for that next shooter. Before playing I recommend getting a stress ball and taking a chill pill since things may get a little crazy.

As I finished writing this I noticed that Metal Slug 4 & 5 are due out in January on a single disc for both [url=http://click.linksynergy.com/fs-bin/click?id=TEq8vCphy*Q&offerid=13850.242311&type=2&subid=0]PS2[/url] and [url=http://click.linksynergy.com/fs-bin/click?id=TEq8vCphy*Q&offerid=13850.243660&type=2&subid=0]Xbox[/url] in addition to [url=http://click.linksynergy.com/fs-bin/click?id=TEq8vCphy*Q&offerid=13850.240861&type=2&subid=0]Metal Slug Advance[/url] which should be out in mid August. While most fans prefer earlier games, it will be a treat to see these awesome arcade shooters make it to home consoles.

Van Helsing

June 29, 2004

Reviews / Xbox / by Chris Rasco /

[floatleft]http://www.snackbar-games.com/images/reviews/vanhelsing/cover.jpg[/floatleft]Due to the fact that Dots and I have a new baby we didn’t make it out to the movies to catch Van Helsing so I had no clue what I was in for with the game. I had heard nothing good or bad about it aside from a comment from my sister-in-law about how cool she thought it was. It had been a long time since she had mentioned any newer games in conversation so I figured I should make it a point to play this one.

Dots and I rented it through our favorite game rental company, [url=http://www.numbthumb.com]NumbThumb[/url]. (Shameless plug I know) I knew the basic premise of the story of Van Helsing so I knew what I could expect in the way of enemies and a basic plot. You play as Van Helsing, the legendary monster hunter, and it is your job to fight your way through Transylvania and defeat Count Dracula. Along the way you will face other monsters such as the Wolf Man, Mr. Hyde, and Frankenstein.

I have to be honest with you. While playing the first level where you battle Mr. Hyde I got really frustrated. The game operates with a very unusual camera view. Some portions of the level have fixed camera views and other times the camera follows you, but you have no manual control over the camera which really got on my nerves as there are times where it is just plain impossible to see things with the camera angle you are given. The camera also got stuck in plenty of places in later levels, but once I got used to it, I learned how to control the view with my movements and prevent “Stupid Camera Syndrome”.

[floatright]http://www.snackbar-games.com/images/reviews/vanhelsing/ss05_thumb.jpg[/floatright]After the initial frustration of dealing with a new layout of controls I really got into the game. The model of Van Helsing is really well done and it looks just like Hugh Jackman who also did the voice for the game. The environments are also very pretty and the fog effect in the 5th or 6th level is quite spectacular. Unfortunately I did experience a tiny bit of clipping inside the Castle where the telescope comes down. I was able to walk on the floor right though the platform. It looked very strange. There was also one point in the game in the caves below the Castle that the game got very slow. I am talking slower than “Original Legend of Zelda in a dungeon with lots of guys on the screen” slow. Van Helsing partially disappeared as I was trying to fend off a flying skull and so I paused the game. Unpausing it resulted in a continuation of the slow down. A few seconds later it returned to normal speed, but the Van Helsing model was mildly distorted with a huge band that seemed to be attached to his back and to a fixed point under the bottom of the cave. It was really very strange and not something I was able to recreate. Leaving that area and continuing on returned the game to normal. I will chalk it up to a very strange bug that I managed to uncover by accident.

As your battle your way through the 13 Missions in this game, you are given a wide arsenal of weapons to aid you. Your default weapons are your Tojo Blades and Dual Pistols which have unlimited normal ammo as do all the guns in the game. You can also find a shotgun, crossbow, gatling gun, elephant gun, rifle, and dual scimitars. Each weapon also has an alternate ammo upgrade. The way this works is that you have an alternate ammo meter on the top right portion of the screen. Tapping the left trigger on Xbox enters the alternate ammo mode and any weapon you fire that has the upgrade will deal additional damage to enemies and in some cases secret doors which require a stronger hit to open will be opened. Typically pressing the check button to inspect them will give you a hint as to what weapon will open them. The meter slowly drains until you are out of alternate ammo. It is refilled in 1 of 2 ways. Attacking enemies with normal attacks will build it back up or you can use an ammo replenisher which is available throughout most levels and in the Armory for a small fee.

As you play through the game you will collect a number of things. The first things you collect are glyphs. There are red glyphs which restore your life and then there are green glyphs which are the currency in the game. Green glyphs can be used to purchase life and weapon upgrades in the Armory at the conclusion of each level. You will also collect Easter Eggs which are placed into special pedestals that unlock small puzzle levels. The completion of these puzzle levels results in you unlocking one of the extensive number of cheats available in the game, many of which aren’t even worth the time to look at.

My first attempt at this game was on Normal and I got stuck pretty early on and was unable to continue. I wasn’t fluent enough with the attack combos and the weapons to do any real damage. After restarting on Easy, I learned quite a bit more about how to play the game. While beating the game on Normal will allow you to restart with all your weapons and play again on Hard, I recommend starting out on Easy to get a feel for the game and which weapons work better on different enemies.

[floatleft]http://www.snackbar-games.com/images/reviews/vanhelsing/ss10_thumb.jpg[/floatleft]One of the really great things about the game is the frequency of save points. You aren’t being alerted that the game is saving, but every time you see a short loading screen the game is saved. This makes it really easy to play partially into a level without fear of losing all of your progress.

There were a few things in the game that I was unsure about and I didn’t have a manual to check them out. For starters, you can lose your hat in battle. I am not sure what affect this has on the game, but the little guys in the Castle as well as many of the bosses had a tendency to knock it off. It is kept track of in the end of level stats so try to keep your hat on. The 2nd thing is somewhat hard to explain. As you kill enemies there is a small counter on the left. You have approximately 5-6 seconds to continue to hit enemies on the screen before it resets to 0. For each enemy you kill without that meter being reset it increments by 1. After you defeat everyone on the screen it stops and retains your current number of kills. At the end of the level it reports back what your longest number of kills was. Since you aren’t being rewarded any bonuses for this I can only assume it as well as the hat thing are reported back to Xbox Live for score keeping. If someone can confirm this I would appreciate it as I don’t have Xbox Live at this time.

Van Helsing is a game that I didn’t give a whole lot of thought to. I had to force myself to play it at first and until I started playing on easy I didn’t really enjoy myself. The learning curve can be mildly steep, but nothing you shouldn’t master in the better part of an hour. After having played through just over half of the game, I can say that I have honestly enjoyed it so far. I am also really into the story now and that may be due in part to the fact that I skipped the movie, but I am really excited to see how it turns out. Typically with games that I review I stop playing them after the review is done and move on but I think I may actually finish playing Van Helsing.

There you have it. Yet another movie based game that actually came out pretty well. As always, $50 would be a tad too much for this one, so you might try picking it up pre-owned. I really have had a lot of fun with Van Helsing and I think the story is very immersive. Is Van Helsing a blockbuster sleeper hit? Nah, but it is definitely something you can pickup and play through a few times without it getting old.

P.S. The final “HUD” or screen configuration is reflected in screenshots 6-8 and 11-13. I assume the other screens are from pre-release versions of the game.

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