Xbox

Star Wars: Battlefront 2

November 9, 2005

[floatleft]http://www.snackbar-games.com/images/reviews/battlefront2/cover.jpg[/floatleft]I hate saying I was right-but I was right. When [i]Star Wars: Battlefront[/i] came out a while back, I just knew it was simply one version away from being one hell of a video game. The original game was pretty bland, taking some of the aspects of the popular [i]Battlefield[/i] franchise and placing all things [i]Star Wars[/i] in. Well, now that the second incarnation of this game is out, all things bland have been fixed-not to mention the addition of space combat. ‘Stay on target!’

[heading]No matter how sure I am, I never bet the Fett.[/heading]

First off, you have to be a [i]Star Wars[/i] fanboy to appreciate all the things about this game. I mean, it places you right into the fray, action, and immense battles of the [i]Star Wars[/i] movies. You can control the two eras of the [i]Star Wars[/i] movie franchise. You get to control the Republic or the Confederacy (battle droids); or you can control the Empire or the Rebellion of the original movie trilogy (Episodes IV through VI), complete with soldiers, vehicles, and starships. Many new things are in the game, including awards for how you play the game that give you buffs and special classes that give status effects to your party or the enemy. However, the cream of the crop are the new space battles.

The space battles pit you versus them, with a fleet of star cruisers and fighters in between. You can take control of your side’s vehicles and dogfight it out with controls reminiscent of [i]Crimson Skies[/i] or get a boarding party of marines and launch an attack inside their cruiser. The space battles are very fun, but they take a long while to complete as you have to systematically take down a whole starship and navigate its defenses and the defenses of its accompanying cruisers. The scale of battle is great as you can literally navigate through the crevices of the enormous starships.

[floatright]http://www.snackbar-games.com/images/reviews/battlefront2/ss04_thumb.jpg[/floatright][heading]I have a bad feeling about this.[/heading]

Much like the original [i]Battlefront[/i], the Jedi/Sith are present on the battlefield. This time, you can control them, and they are not all powerful (although Cone claims to have killed Vader in the original). You can get awarded with hero characters, be it actual Jedi or Sith, or even popular characters from the movies (including Boba ‘Freaking’ Fett). Of course, they wreck shop and have their own weapons and abilities (including Force powers for the Jedi). They also have a timer: in order to keep them alive and make your timer go up, you must take down your enemies; if you kill your teammates or get shot, then the timer goes down. So you can imagine to take out a Jedi, you have to gang up on him or her and really focus all you got on them. Of course, in return they can fairly eat your lunch and punch you in the stomach. Might I mention that Darth Maul is quite frankly the coolest thing about this whole game.

[heading]Where are you taking this… thing?[/heading]

The single-player campaign got the beefed-up treatment as well. You can play three modes. Instant action lets you play a game on any map with your rules, be it CTF, Assault, or Conquest. Also available is the Story of the 501st, the most bad-to-the-bone battalion of the Republic’s troopers there is. You get to play their story, narrated via a journal of the Clone Wars all the way to the Galactic Civil War. I love this part of the game. Also available is a strategy-based Galactic Conquest. You pick your side and era, of course, and set out to take over the galaxy, fending off attacks on your planets and launching space battles against their fleets on this board-type game. You also must purchase upgrades and troops. This mode is fun but gets old after a while.

[floatleft]http://www.snackbar-games.com/images/reviews/battlefront2/ss08_thumb.jpg[/floatleft]Of course, you cannot have [i]Battlefront[/i] without taking it online via Xbox Live. Again, find a match, and get in there and dominate. It’s fun stuff-if and when you get the chance to be a Jedi or hero character, all eyes will be on you. Consider yourself warned.

[heading]Hokey religions and ancient weapons are no match for a good blaster at your side, kid.[/heading]

I might have overdone the [i]Star Wars[/i] quotes in this review a bit. That doesn’t take away from the game itself. This game is one hell of a fun game, and that is why we play games. It’s a good time to be had and an even better time to be had by fans of the [i]Star Wars[/i] universe. The production values are all here: great voiceovers, sound, and everything you expect from a game with a budget. The graphics got the upgrade-everything is polished to a sheen and pumped full of steroids. Give this a purchase if you can. You won’t regret it. Get on Xbox Live, and take the fight to your buddies.

Burnout Revenge

September 20, 2005

Reviews / Xbox / by Chris Rasco /

[floatleft]http://www.snackbar-games.com/images/reviews/burnoutrevenge/cover.jpg[/floatleft]I’m not a fan of racing games. I am, however, a fan of chaos and destruction, which is exactly what the [i]Burnout[/i] series has brought to the table. [i]Burnout 3[/i] was my first experience in what could be the most entertaining racing game of all time. [i]Burnout Revenge[/i] is back with some new features and a few major changes that may or may not thrill fans of the previous versions of the game.

For those of you who are unfamiliar with [i]Burnout[/i], let me tell you a little bit about it. [i]Burnout[/i] is a very well done arcade-style racer that encourages road rage, crashing, and general mayhemA

Conker: Live and Reloaded

August 24, 2005

Reviews / Xbox / by Matt Karam /

[floatleft]http://www.snackbar-games.com/images/reviews/conkerreloaded/cover.jpg[/floatleft]The anticipation for this game was immense. I had played [i]Conker’s Bad Fur Day[/i] on the N64 for hours upon hours, but my only real experience with it was the multiplayer (the Beach level was absolutely amazing). I had played the single-player campaign only for about an hour and decided the game was more fun on the multiplayer end, so I never really finished the campaign. Well, apparently, I missed out on some really fun stuff, and I had plans to eventually play the game and found out my chance would be renewed with [i]Conker: Live and Reloaded[/i] without even having to dust off the N64.

It’s no secret that this game is strictly a multiplayer game. Not only does [i]Conker: Live and Reloaded[/i] not try to hide that fact, but its default option when you turn on the game is Xbox Live. With that being said, let’s first dive into the single-player campaign and the world of Conker, a tiny, furry, loveable, hungover little squirrel. The campaign is again called [i]Conker’s Bad Fur Day[/i], and it is almost an exact port from the N64 version, with a ton of improvements. The first and most noticeable change is the graphics, which are sharper, clearer, and definitely cleaner than the N64 game. Also, because the game is an ‘exact port’ of its N64 counterpart, there are tons of jokes and references. For example, at the very beginning, you use the same exact strategy to defeat the Gargoyle, but it doesn’t work. Conker looks at the screen and says, ‘Hey, they promised me that this would be an exact port!’ Conker also wears different costumes depending on the level he’s in, which is something that the original game did, but to a much lesser extent (and I know this because I used my [i]Bad Fur Day 64[/i] guide to beat [i]Live and Reloaded[/i]). One thing that [i]Live[/i] did was censor all curse words, but since Potty Mouth is one of the unlockable features, I’m not complaining.

[floatright]http://www.snackbar-games.com/images/reviews//conkerreloaded/ss03_thumb.jpg[/floatright][i]Bad Fur Day[/i] is one of the most unique games I’ve ever played. Story-wise, it’s utterly ridiculous (in a terribly great, ingenious, and hilarious way). The fabled Panther King is drinking milk from his chalice, and when he puts the chalice down on his throneside table, it topples due to a missing leg, and he gets very angry, threatening his servants with duct tape if they don’t fix the problem. The solution: a red squirrel can fill the gap between the floor and the broken leg. Conker (who is coincidentally a red squirrel), meanwhile, has had too much to drink and wanders home the wrong way, beginning a sequence of horribly odd eventsA

FlatOut

August 10, 2005

Reviews / Xbox / by Chris Rasco /

[floatleft]http://www.snackbar-games.com/images/reviews/flatout/cover.jpg[/floatleft]Demolition derbies are great to watch and undoubtedly more fun to be in, assuming you can avoid the risk of certain death. [i]FlatOut[/i], the new demolition racer from Bugbear, places you in the middle of that action and eliminates the risk of serious bodily harm (at least for you).

At its core, [i]FlatOut[/i] is an entertaining racer that is very shallow but packs in quite a few outlandish bonus games that are sure to keep you playing. Upon loading [i]FlatOut[/i], you are presented with a few gameplay options: Career, Quick Race, Time Trial, and Multiplayer. You will spend quite a bit of your time playing Career mode, and it is very similar to what you would expect. Career mode is basically a series of races in three different racing circuits: Bronze, Silver, and Gold. Placing in the top three slots for each race will unlock the next race for you, and the higher up you place, the more cash you are awarded to upgrade your clunker with new parts or even buy a new car. In addition to standard races, you will also get to try your hand at some wacky bonus races. Bonus races are a collection of races that range from Demo Derbies to very strange High Jump challenges. These special races make special use of one aspect of the physics engine that some people will find offensive: hurling your driver through the windshield at neck-breaking speeds. Bonus courses also reward you for your hard work, and I have found that mastering the High Jump is the fastest way to build a sizeable amount of cash for purchasing vehicle upgrades.

[floatright]http://www.snackbar-games.com/images/reviews/flatout/ss10_thumb.jpg[/floatright]Actual races in [i]FlatOut[/i] are quite simple and will require a mix of skills from standard racing as well as rally racing. Powersliding is a technique that will come in quite handy. Launching your driver from the car is also present in these standard races and can become highly annoying. The AI racers in Career mode are very aggressive and will oftentimes run you into a tree or some other obstacle and send your driver tumbling in the road. As expected, this causes quite an annoying delay in getting back on the track and continuing your race. The advantage to this is that the AI drivers are just as prone to slamming into obstacles as you are, so they don’t ever seem to get too far ahead. Rubberbanding also makes a nasty appearance in [i]FlatOut[/i] that keeps you from getting too far ahead as well.

One of the great things about [i]FlatOut[/i] is that the environments are incredibly destructible. Just about anything on or off the track can be slammed into and broken. Clipping a sign will cause it to come crashing down, possibly slowing down your opponents that are right on your tail. As the races progress, your car will also reflect impressive levels of damage. Unlike most games, you are basically rewarded for wrecking your car and hitting obstacles. Nitro boost is awarded as you plow into objects or other cars on the track. Not to worry about the damage, though, as it takes an awful lot to prevent your car from driving.

One complaint I have about [i]FlatOut[/i] is the lack of variety in cars and tracks. There are only a few areas that make up the settings for the races, and oftentimes they feel highly repetitive. The models and environments look great, but a wider variety would have been nice.

[floatleft]http://www.snackbar-games.com/images/reviews/flatout/ss05_thumb.jpg[/floatleft]I didn’t take [i]FlatOut[/i] online, but the multiplayer is apparently a blast with eight drivers causing massive carnage. A few key points about the online gaming is that the Xbox version is missing online demo derbies, and the PC version is missing the online component completely, only providing LAN play. So the one console that lacks a solid online solution is the only one that gets the full range of online options.

[i]FlatOut[/i]’s developer Bugbear is based in Europe, so the music will be a little strange for those in the States. After awhile, the music just blended it, but Bugbear would be wise to allow Xbox and PC gamers to make use of custom soundtracks in future games.

When it is all said and done, [i]FlatOut[/i] delivers a rusty demolition racing experience that provides a shallow amount of entertainment. The bonus levels are good for short bursts of entertainment and carnage, and the Career mode is provided as the staple for current racing games. My recommendation is that race fans should give this one a shot. The spectacular crash sequences may just be worth it.

Destroy All Humans

July 16, 2005

Reviews / Xbox / by Lauren Rasco /

[floatleft]http://www.snackbar-games.com/images/reviews/destroyallhumans/cover.jpg[/floatleft]If there is one thing that is a constant source of irritation and annoyance in my life, it’s people. There is just something about humanity in general that really gets under my skin. I can’t say how many times I’ve told people (ones who I have deemed worthy to associate with) that I think we should let natural selection have its way with the world. Forget warning labels and traffic lights; just let people fight their way through existence. And what is more natural than aliens coming down to Earth and destroying all humans? Nothing in my book; not one thing.

The premise of [i]Destroy All Humans[/i], the latest from Pandemic, is to come to Earth and, well, destroy all humans. There is a backstory, of course: your name is Crypto137, a Furon clone-alien that is working for Pox, an alien scientist of sorts. Your job is to go and collect DNA from people on Earth so that your alien nation can perfect its clones, which are getting stupider by the minute. It turns out that a long time ago a rouge Furon alien came to Earth and, um, reproduced with an Earthling. Thus, deep down in all of us is some alien DNA. You are unleashed on Earth with the ability to throw cows, read minds, and naturally, anal probe the locals. The game is set in the 1950’s stereotypical sci-fi B-movie towns, where ignorance runs rampant and communism is on people’s minds. The people think the most interesting thoughts that produced many a chuckle while I was playing the game. To break it down, you have missions that you must complete, and once completed, you have free reign of the level to collect extra DNA and complete mini missions. You can use DNA to purchase upgrades on the mother ship for yourself or for your flying saucer.

[floatright]http://www.snackbar-games.com/images/reviews/destroyallhumans/ss02_thumb.jpg[/floatright]There are a myriad of weapons and tactics used to navigate each level. As you move about, your ultimate goal is to remain unnoticed. There is a panic-level meter that you should pay close attention to, as the higher it gets, the more law enforcement and, eventually, military you have to deal with. Oh yeah, there is a little wrench thrown into the works when Crypto finds out about the Majestic, a government agency that is out to capture Furon technology and use it for their own devices. Most of the time, you have to walk around in human form, taking form of the first human you scan. To stay concentrated, you must scan other humans’ minds and, like I said, this is when you hear the most peculiar thoughts. Also a source of amusement is the dialogue between Crypto and Pox. For some, the game might seem a little redundant, but for me personally, I never grew tired of running around causing mayhem. At many points during the game, you have to enter your saucer to fight off or destroy an attack of large scale. I enjoyed this aspect of the game. It reminded me of the saucers in Tim Burton’s [i]Mars Attacks![/i] Again, there was just some sort of satisfaction in blowing buildings, people, and tanks to smithereens with an alien deathray.

The controls in the game were picked up very quickly, and running around as Crypto was pretty basic. There are a few things that I think really make the game stand out: the authentic B-movie alien soundtrack and also the B-movie worlds in which you move about. Humor moves the game along, and there is never a dull moment. The humor helps take your mind off the fact that you are basically doing the same thing over and over again. That is one drawback to this game. There is not much variety in the gameplay. But when you think of a game that everyone loves, like [i]Halo[/i], there is no variety in gameplay there either. Another drawback is that the game is a relatively short one. I just wish that there could have been more of humanity to destroy.

[floatleft]http://www.snackbar-games.com/images/reviews/destroyallhumans/ss04_thumb.jpg[/floatleft]Overall, I would recommend this game to people because it seems at this point in time there just isn’t much around that provides a new, fresh, fun concept. Though most people like mankind more than I do, there isn’t one person out there who won’t enjoy trying to destroy all humans. This game is good for a laugh, easy to master, and fun even a mindless clone would enjoy.

I recommend [i]Destroy All Humans[/i] to invade all consoles at least once.

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