[img align=right width=200]http://www.rfgeneration.com/images/games/U-072/bf/U-072-S-08110-A.jpg[/img]Dragon Quest: The Journey of the Cursed King (in the US: Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King) is Level-5's third RPG for the Playstation 2, and also the third game ever by the developer. After the good Dark Cloud (2000) and the great Dark Chronicle (2002), Level-5 decided to take on the massive task of making the next instalment of the long lasting Dragon Quest franchise. Not only that, Dragon Quest: The Journey of the Cursed King (from now on called Dragon Quest 8 ) would become the first game of the series for the Playstation 2, as well as being the first Dragon Quest game with 3D graphics. Not an easy task, but Level-5 fulfilled all expectations.
The game starts when the evil mage Dhoulmagus tries to steal a legendary sceptre, locked away in a local castle. To reach his goal, Dhoulmagus cursed the castle and petrified everyone inside into plant-like beings except for three individuals. The King, Throde, gets transformed into a Yoda-like toad, while his daughter, princess Medea, gets turned into a horse. The last survivor of the curse is you, the hero of this tale, and the only one not affected by the curse in any way.
Despite the shallowness and classic feel of the story, there are some interesting plot twists that'll keep you entertained until the end. Along the way you'll meet three more characters that'll join you on your adventure: Yangus, Jessica and Angelo. Yangus is rough fellow that got his life saved by the hero and calls him "guv" out of respect. Another recurring line of Yangus is "Cor' Blimey!" whenever King Throde appears out of nowhere. Jessica is a hard headed aristocratic girl that wants to avenge the death of her brother, Alister, who got killed by Dhoulmagus some time before his attack on the castle. Angelo is a Templar Knight, devoted to Abbot Francisco, but lacking the will to follow the Templars' strict moral code.
This lively bunch sets out to find Dhoulmagus, and while doing so encounter countless other characters that need assitance of some sort to advance the main plot. The game offers alot of content and a whole world to discover. Rushing through the story without doing any sidequests will almost take up 50 hours. You can almost double that number when playing at a normal pace and getting involved in most of the sidequests.
Gameplay-wise, Dragon Quest 8 is an as classic RPG as it gets. Combat is turn-based and gets triggered by random encouters. Because there are only 4 playable characters, switching characters isn't an option, meaning all characters will level up at the same speed. When faced against a number of monsters, you'll have to assign tasks to all 4 of your characters first and then watch them get executed together with enemy attacks. Besides melee and ranged attacks, characters can cast offensive or healing spells, aswell as use weapon-specific abilities. Lastly, players can opt to raise the tension of a character to build up energy that can be released in a single, devastating blow; especially useful when doing a boss fight.
Characters differ concerning the spells they can cast, aswell as the attributes they can raise. When a characters levels up, you can assign points to any of 5 attributes of that character. 4 of those attributes are to increase damage done with specific weapons, 1 attribute is different for each character. Some tactics lie in the fact that not all characters can use all types of weapons. For example, Angelo is the only one that can wield bows. The maximum amount of points that can be assigned to an attribute is 100, which can be obtained at around level 40. This gives players some time to experiment with different weapon types first before having to stick to one type to get it as strong as possible. The different weapon types are swords, boomerangs, axes, clubs, knives, scythes, whips, staves, bows and fisticuffs (no weapon equiped).
Besides weapons, characters can also equip a piece of body armor, a helmet, a shield and an accessory. These aren't as many categories as in some other RPGs, but you'll still spend a great deal of time finding, buying or making better weapons and armour. That last option is available once aquiring an Alchemy Pot. You can throw in multiple items and see what new item pops out. This mini-game is similar to the "invention" system in Dark Chronicle or the weapon system in Rogue Galaxy. It's quite important to try out as much combinations as you can, because it's the best way to get a hold of some strong weapons/armour/items before being able to purchase them. That's needed, because the game can be pretty challenging, especially early on when it doesn't take much hits to get your party wiped out. After the game's ending you can load your saved game again to just before defeating the final boss and enter a complete new dungeon after which some of the hardest boss battles can be found. Sometimes you'll have to go through large stretches of land without really knowing what to look for. Although this might set off the less experienced RPGer, old-school gamers will love the classic approach to this RPG.
If I could say only one thing about Dragon Quest 8, it would be that it's a very polished, rich and complete games. Alot of thought went into the menu, which looks particulary nice. All your items can easily be sorted with an auto-sort option in the menu, where they are displayed with beautiful icons. Also nice is that, when pressing select, you get a "battle records" menu in which you can watch a full list of of monsters, collected items and Alchemy Pot recepies.
Coupled to the great gameplay are stunning visuals and sound. Graphics are some of the best on the PS2 and the best ever in the Dragon Quest series. The cel-shading suits the game perfectly, with characters and monsters looking like they've just escaped from an anime, yet staying faithful to the Dragon Quest franchise. Akira Toriyama did the character design of this game and is the man responsible for the Dragon Ball Z series.
Sound is just as nice with convincing voice acting (despite the sometimes over-the-top voice of King Throde), great sound effects and fantastic music. The songs are all classic orchestral tracks that really set the mood for the many areas that the game is rich. From the regal intro tune to the upbeat battle song or the creepy dungeon track; they all maintain the same high level and are never out of place.
I'll wrap it up by saying that Dragon Quest 8 is one of the best games in the series aswell as one of the best RPGs on the PS2. If you're looking for a good RPG, a game that will last a long time or just a good game in general, this is a must-buy. 9.3/10
[img align=right width=200]http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a322/varnayo/juegos/Warcraft_2_Battle_Net_Edition.jpg[/img]Except for maybe Wolfenstein 3D, no other game can bring back memories of my childhood like Warcraft II. This 1995 game is sequel to Warcraft: Orcs & Humans and has helped made Blizzard the company that it is today. Because I never played this game in multiplayer when I was young and it somehow feels wrong to do so now, I'll focus on the singleplayer aspect of the game.
The game's story is being told by a narrator with text running over a still image. You can imagine a 7 year old not patient enough to listen to this so I can recall little to none of it, however I'll try to give a brief impression of what is going on:
The game takes place six years after the events in Orcs & Humans, which ended with the fall of Azeroth. After this the Orcs conquer Lordaeron and attempt a second assault at the human race. The Humans form the Alliance with the Elves, Dwarves and Gnomes to whitstand the Orcs' attack, however, the Orcs form the Horde with the Ogres, Goblins and Trolls. Some more detailed events take place but as I see the story of little importance for this game, I'll leave it at that.
Important to Warcraft II's gameplay is that almost all units and all buildings are identical at both sides. For example, an Elven Archer has the same statistics as a Troll Axethrower; they only vary in name and appearance. This also goes for the different buildings on both sides. The only real difference lies within the spells some higher characters can use. This may sound a bit boring but makes both sides very balanced with no particular advantages over the other.
The main building in the game is the Town Hall, where peasants (or peons) can drop off timber and gold. Wood can also be brought to a Lumber Mill when built. A third resource, oil, can be drilled up once an Oil Platform has been built by an Oil Tanker on a designated location. The Shipyard or Refinary act as drop off points for oil. Besides these there are other typical RTS buildings such as Barracks, Blacksmiths, Farms and Towers. Gathering resources or building buildings takes quite a long time at the start of a game, giving you time to explore some of the map while your army gets ready for action.
Enemy AI is predictable yet challenging enough to keep the game from becoming too easy. The game's expanion, "Beyond the Dark Portal", features better AI and has some pretty difficult missions that'll please even the best RTS players.
Despite being fairly simple (in terms of gameplay mechanics) and not having a gigantic technology tree like some modern games in the genre, Warcraft II's gameplay is still fun to play today, although some features now taken for granted in RTS games aren't present. For example there's no production queues so you have to go back to your unit producing building for each individual unit. You can also select only 9 units at a time, which results in alot of clicking when trying to move a large army around. But when you compare Warcraft II to some RTS games of its time, it's easy to see why this was one of the most important (it not the most important) RTS game of its generation.
Warcraft II's graphics are colorful and cartoony giving the game a rather light undertone. The characters and buildings are all 2D sprites with their own specific look, making it easy to tell them apart. Animations are fluid yet primitive but get the job done. During the different campaigns you'll play on different terrains like grasslands, snowlands, swamps, etc... giving the game enough visual variaty.
More impressive than its visuals were the sound effects and soundtrack or Warcraft II. Sound effects are convincing with arrows being fired or axes being swayed. The soundtrack consists of lots of orchestral-type bombastic tunes that suit the game nicely. I often found myself humming some of these after playing the game for a couple of hours.
When clicking on units they happily confirm your orders but what's even more fun is that they start to throw out hilarious comments when repeatedly clicked on. For example, a Footman will say "Don't you have a kingdom to run?" after a couple of clicks.
On the multiplayer department I can say that it's possible to play with up to 8 players. Until the Battle.net edition was released, gamers used IPX Emulators such as Kali to play online. Another nice feature about Warcraft II is that you can use a single disc of the game to play with 8 players in a network. Compare that to the DRM in Spore and you can only frown upon the way gaming has become restricted.
I could go on about what I like about Warcraft II and what makes this such a memorable game for me, but I think I've covered the basics. If you're an RTS fan there's no excuse for not playing this game and if you're not but see the game for cheap, I'd still recommend getting it. 9.0/10
[img align=right width=200]http://www.rfgeneration.com/images/games/U-072/bf/U-072-S-08790-A.jpg[/img]Fahrenheit (Indigo Prophecy in the US) is a 2005 game released by Quantic Dream. With the studio's second release they wanted to create a truly cinematic game and let me tell you: they succeeded.
The game starts in a cold, snow-covered New York City where we find protagonist of the game, Lucas Kane, sitting on a toilet of a diner with a knife in his hands. Something's not right with Lucas because he used the knive to kill an innocent man and carved strange markings in his forearms. Seconds later, he regains control over himself and is stunned to find the man on the bathroom floor, realising he's a murderer.
From there on the player gets to control Lucas and has to make quick decisions in his place to get him away from the crimescene in one piece. I won't go into further detail about the story because that would spoil too much of the experience. All I'll add is that you also get to play as Carla Valenti and Tyler Miles, two detectives working the case of Lucas' murder. This makes for some interesting moments because you're playing as two sides who are literally working against each other.
I'd like to stress how important the story in this game is, which is of a far superior level and suspense normally found in games. While advancing through the game you'll really start to care about alot of characters, which aren't stereotypical good or bad guys but rather undergo an evolution as the game progresses.
What makes Fahrenheit different from most games is not only its deep story but also the way you can influence that story. Depending on what decisions you make, the story changes. When talking to another character, different dialog options are shown. (Like in Mass Effect) A timer runs out so you have to make quick decisions as to what you want your character to say. Although the story isn't completely changeable (some decisions simply end up with Lucas in prison, forcing you to do things differently) there are entire scenes that can be unlocked when making the right decisions. (including two sex scenes cut from the US version)
All actions in the game are performed via the analog sticks. The left one controls Lucas' movement while the right one is context-sensitive. Depending where you are or what object you're facing, a small icon on the screen shows what movement you should make with the stick. (Much like Skate's way of performing tricks)
During the more intense action sequences you'll have to perform a sort of rhythm mini game with the analog sticks. Two 4-button icons will show up in the middle of the screen (like the memory game Simon) and depending on which color lights up, you'll have to press the corresponding analog stick in that direction. Although this seems stupid on paper it works rather well in this game and I never got the feeling I'm simply pressing random buttons because the rhythm game is made so it matches the actions on screen.
Another fun feature of Fahrenheit is you'll also do some everyday life actions like drink some water, play some guitar or take a shower. This supports the bond you have with the characters and shows they're no superheroes but regular people like you and me. They also have a mental health bar that goes up or down depending on your actions in the game. At maximum this shows as "Neutral" but will say things like "Stressed" or "Depressed" when worse.
What's most irritating about Fahrenheit are character and camera movement. Character movement is slow and feels stiff. Maybe this has been done to add to the realistic feel of the game, I'm not really sure. Although the camera does a decent job, it tends to get stuck behind objects in small rooms making it hard to regain a good perspective. Graphics aren't fantastic either (comparable to those of GTA: Vice City and San Andreas) with some animations looking a bit unnatural, despite the use of motion capture. This never bothered me though, because it's easy to forgive a game for its lesser graphics when it has such an intense storyline.
Much better than the visuals is the audio and a place where Fahrenheit really shines. Luckily for its storyline, voice acting is performed excellent for all characters. The way you can hear them think in their heads is especially convincing, together with the voice of main character Lucas. Musically, Fahrenheit uses both licensed songs and an original score. Licensed songs are usually found when a radio is playing in-game while the original score accompanies alot of dialog and action scenes. I think both are used very well and give Fahrenheit that memorable feel that you'll remember even after finishing the game.
Although only an 8-hour game, Fahrenheit is the kind of of game you'll still think about weeks after completing it. It gets under your skin like few other games do and has a story even fewer can compare with. Definately worth your attention despite the flaws I've mentioned. 8.3/10
[img align=right width=200]http://www.rfgeneration.com/images/games/U-072/bf/U-072-S-01210-A.jpg[/img]Maximo: Ghosts To Glory (2002) is Capcom's effort in trying to create a modern platform game with the classic Ghosts 'N Goblins feel to it. The game was originally planned for release on the Nintendo 64, but after being delayed a couple of years it found itself on the PS2 instead.
When starting a new game you'll see Maximo returning home after war in a nice CGI cutscene. Things aren't exactly as he had hoped because Achille has taken over his kingdom and opened the door to the underworld. To make matters worse, Achille has captured four princesses aswell as Maximo's wife, Sophia. With a devastation spell, Achille sends Maximo to the underworld where he's given a chance by the Grim Reaper to resque the princesses and regain control over his kingdom.
Despite being a difficult game, the gameplay of Maximo isn't complicated at all. Maximo is restricted to four moves: a basic swing of his sword, a power strike, a downward strike after double-jumping and throwing his shield. When venturing through the five worlds of the game you'll encounter different enemies that each require a unique combination of moves to defeat.
Knowing how to defeat each enemy is critical for your success, because just like in games of the past, Maximo dies after only a couple of hits. Furthermore, you need 100 coins each time you want to save; which is only possible in the central hub-level of each world. If Maximo happens to loose all his lives he'll return to the underworld where the Grim Reaper will ask for a Death Coin to revive the fallen hero. A Death Coins is obtained by collecting 50 Blue Spirits. If you die without any Death Coins, it's game over for good. All of this results in a game that's far more difficult than other platform games on the PS2, or even modern games in general.
Needless to say, Maximo will require a lot of trial & error, figuring out how to defeat certain enemies or remembering where the next armor chest is located.
To make things less repetitive, Maximo will find abilities along the way aswell as power-ups for his sword and shield. Some abilities are almost vital to survive (like the double swing or throw shield abilities) while others aren't of much use throughout most of the game (like Thunderbolt) The sword power-ups however always come in handy, as they make Maximo's sword stronger and are needed for certain abilities. To get the most out of these abilities it's best not to die, because Maximo looses all but a few "locked" ones when faced with death.
Each world features five levels that are to be completed to gain access to the world's boss and the next world eventually. Each level has its own difficult moments but luckily a couple of checkpoints can be activated, so death doesn't necessarily mean starting all the way from the beginning of the level. After clearing a level you'll get a great feeling of success that is hardly present anymore in most modern games.
Maximo's graphics match its old-school gameplay in a sense that everything (except the character models) looks a bit blocked and flat. Often, walls or floors aren't more than a single huge polygon with a texture slapped onto it, clearly showing Maximo's history on the N64. This never bothers me because Maximo is intended to feel like a 16-bit era game. On the other hand, character models are detailed and animations are fast and smooth.
The sound of the game does the job well, with nice sound effects and good voice-acting for the (scarce) CGI cutscenes. I especially like the the game's music that enhances its classic mood aswell as each world at the same time. A couple more songs would have been nice though.
Overall, Maximo is a double-edged sword. Novice gamers will be frustrated with the game's trial & error gameplay and cumbersome save system while old-school gamers will love the game's nostalgic feel. If you're up for a challenge, like platform games or like 16-bit games, be sure to check out Maximo: Ghosts To Glory. 8.6/10
[img align=right width=200]http://www.rfgeneration.com/images/games/U-016/bf/U-016-S-03370-A.jpg[/img]Guild Wars: Prophecies, released in 2005, was the first game ArenaNet ever developed. It's an MMORPG (Massive Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game) that shares many traits with other games in the genre, but also introduced some interesting things; most importantly maybe that there's no monthly fee for playing this MMO.
If Guild Wars (GW) would've been an offline RPG, its story could've been considered a bit shallow. It is however an online RPG, where story is somewhat less important than the actual online interaction with other players.
You start out as a new recruit of Ascalon, which has been at war with the Charr for years. The Charr are a bunch of savage creatures from the North, who look like upright walking tigers with horns. Suddenly disaster strikes as the Charr launch a massive, magic-fed attack and almost completely overrun Ascalon; an event later called "The Searing". You regain control over your character two years later in the now post-apocalyptic Ascalon where the story further unfolds...
This story is what it should be and drives the main missions well. However, you already get to play with your character before the Searing, all of which serves as a big tutorial. In this tutorial (which can easily take up 10 hours) you learn the basics of combat for all professions and have to choose your secondary profession before you'll get thrown into the actual game.
As with most MMO's, you first get to create your character: male or female, tall or short, brown or blond hair. Also, you immediately have to decide which profession you want to be: ranger, warrior, monk, elementalist, necromancer or mesmer. This is a choice that'll profondly effect your further gameplay, so it's wise to try a few professions first before investing too much time in one that doesn't suit your style of play.
GW features pretty standard gameplay. Each profession can wield any type of weapon, but can only wear its own specific armor. The attributes of each profession are different though, which is why it's best sticking with weaponry suited for you. A ranger, for example, has an attribute called "Marksmanship" which improves damage done with a bow.
You gain attribute points every time you level up, until level 20, the maximum level. Different than in most MMO's, getting your character to the maximum level doesn't take hundreds of hours, but can be completed within 50-60 hours on your first playthrough. (Incredibly fast for a game of this type) Also armor and weapons which feature maximum stats aren't that rare, giving GW quite a unique perspective on achievements compared to most MMO's.
In GW, the real goals are titles which you can display under your name. These can range from obvious ones as "Champion", "Hero" or "Explorer" to "Drunkard", "Party Animal" or "Unlucky". Some of these are relatively easy to complete but most take tens or hundreds of hours, some almost a thousand hours to complete. Craziest title of all is "Legendary Defender of Ascalon". To achieve this title you need to get to level 20 in the tutorial area (before The Searing) which requires you to make enemies level up by letting yourself die over and over again. A perfect example of playing the game without actually playing it, something that can be said of alot of the titles in this game.
To advance through the world you'll have to explore Explorable Areas (what's in a name) by yourself or in a party, making your way from outpost to outpost. Some of these areas are linked to specific missions, which also push the main story along. Don't worry though, because the other areas are filled with NPC's giving you lots of FedEx quests to gain some more experience. GW's world map is huge; exploring it alone takes hundreds of hours.
In these explorable areas, you'll come across the unavoidable monsters, which drop some gold or items for you to pick up. Every profession has different abilities, which you collect along the way. Only 8 abilities can be used at the same time, making for some strategic tactics when putting together the ultimate set of abilities.
Graphically, GW is great, with nice characters and monsters and interesting and diverse scenery. I think the water is particulary nice, even maybe by today's standards.
Music and sound are pretty standard, same goes for the voice work; although there are some catchy musical themes. It's not mind-blowing, but never gets on your nerves aswell. (Very important for a game that never ends)
Now to discuss my theory on MMORPG's as a genre, and something that GW suffers from too. The problem with an MMO is you're either addicted or you're not. There's no middle way. (Atleast not for me)
When you're addicted, the game you're playing is the greatest game ever and you don't want to play anything but that game. With objectives (in GW's case: titles) taking hundreds or thousands of hours to complete, you can easily spend a whole year on an MMO, completely submurged in the game and everything about it.
However, once that addiction fades it's hard to stay interested, because games like GW or WoW are specifically made so they're only fun when played alot. Finding the motivation to perform these long, tedious tasks becomes much harder without that obsessive drive aswell.
As a conclusion I can say that Guild Wars is a great game in its genre, but it's still an MMORPG, so beware! Once you're hooked, you might not play another game anymore for months. Don't say I didn't warn you... 8.5/10
[img align=right width=200]http://www.rfgeneration.com/images/games/E-072/bf/E-072-S-00670-A.jpg[/img]Gran Turismo. One of the names most associated with the Playstation-brand whose popularity is met by only a couple other franchises out there. In 1998, with the release of the original Gran Turismo came the DualShock, probably the most recognizable modern-day game pad there is and something that shows how big an impact this series has had.
Gran Turismo 3: A-spec (2001) was the first racer Polyphony Digital released to the world to show what the Playstation 2 was capable of. With Gran Turismo 4 (2005), Polyphony Digital tried to realise what they couldn't with part 3.
Let's start out with what is new. Immediate eyecatcher is the highly needed, slick new menu layout. Every screen in the game feels like it's part of a bigger whole and the same fonts, colors and icons are used throughout. This gives GT4 a much more streamlined feel, aswell as provide easier mobility while navigating through the game's massive options.
As usual, there's an Arcade Mode where you can do single races, time trials or go up against others in a 2-player splitscreen or LAN. The not-so-interesting Replay Theatre is back aswell, but most important still is the Gran Turismo mode, the place where you'll spend 98% of your time.
Here, you'll immediately notice the difference in layout, with much more icons than in the past. In the classic home screen, the garage has become much more flexible for searching through your collection of cars with listing categories like country, power-to-weight ratio and so on. You'll also notice your "diary" which is nothing more than a log of your purchases and race results.
In GT4, races are devided into much more categories than before. The beginner, professional and expert races make a return, but new are the country- and manufacturer-specific races. There are, for example, Japanese, American and European events, while you have to go to the manufacturers to see if there are model-specific races available.
One thing in which GT4 excels is content: There's over 700 cars and 50 tracks in the game, making it a much bigger game than GT3. The same however was true for GT2 compared to GT1, probably because the developer has more time for their second release on each console. New this time are all the classic cars from the 50ies and beyond, aswell as some crazy concept cars and some of the first cars ever made. To make things easier in the beginning of the game, you can buy used cars of all ages. However, there's so many races to do and cars to collect in this game, it'll take you weeks (or even months) to finish it.
Also new are the B-spec and Photo mode. In B-spec mode you don't drive yourself but assist an AI driver by giving him/her directions (accelerate, break, etc...) for what to do next. Photo mode is (as the name indicates) a mode in which you can take pictures of your favorite cars, put them on a USB stick and print them out if you want.
Now for the actual driving. (This is where opinions will clash the most concerning GT4) Depending from what you, the gamer, expect from a racing-game, you'll either love GT4 or you won't. If you're looking for adrenaline-pumping, faster-than-lightning races with brutal competition, chances are big you won't like GT4. If, however, you're looking for a realistic (and therefor sometimes a bit boring) driving simulator, you'll find GT4 (almost) everything you're longing for.
When it comes to simply simulating driving, GT4 is fan-tas-tic. Especially when turning off electronic aids you'll be able to really show what you're made of. Couple this with the rich content and you can already justify buying GT4. However, there's some bad sides to the game aswell, quite a few actually...
For starters, there's no online play. This'll surely dissapoint alot of people wanting to test their skills against others online, who don't have a racing friend nearby.
Secondly, the AI is as dumb as ever. The other cars (still only 5) always drive in the perfect racing line, almost never miss a turn and stay together as a group unless there are major differences in the cars' performances. A third complaint is the fact that you can still use cars ahead of you as airbags for taking sharp corners aswell as ride off-track on several courses. (Apricot Hill, anyone?)
A penalty system has been introduced in the Dirt & Snow events, making you drive 50km/h for 5 seconds if you hit the other car, however, sometimes you get a penalty for the other car hitting you! These Dirt & Snow events are another thing that bothers me in GT4. Instead of them being realistic (like, say: Colin Mcrae) you feel like you're trying to manoeuvre a bar of soap on a wet plastic surface, constantly sliding towards the sides unless you break like mad. Although the B-spec mode sounds like a nice new feature at first, it's boring as hell and I really don't see the fun of not driving yourself.
Lastly, there's still no damage model, but it depends on what you expect from a driving simulator if that's a bad thing or not.
On the bright side, both graphics and sound are perfect in GT4, with beautiful cars and circuits aswell as realistic engine sounds. The soundtrack is elaborate although I'm not sure it'll appeal to all with mostly rock songs. Luckily, you can customize it in the "jukebox" so you only have to listen to the songs you like. Especially graphically, you can see the improvements made since GT3 with nicer cars, reflections and lighting. Especially the clouds seem to have been improved, showing much more detail than before. The addition of a new over-the-hood view of your car is very welcome, bring the best of the other 2 views together.
Scoring GT4 is difficult because it really depends on what you expect from it. I'd personally give it a 8.8 or maybe even a 9.0 out of 10 but considering the many faults this game has I'll give it a more diplomatic 8.2/10.
Mini Review 1
Oblivion - this is one of those games that I really wanted to get into but failed miserably. I guess it goes to show that just because you love games - doesn't mean you love all games and all game types.
Oblivion is set in the olden days and is Western RPG. I say western RPG rather than Japanese RPG as I actually enjoy the occasional JRPG, mainly because they are quirky and remind me of some the RPGs I played on the master system / mega drive which I really enjoyed as a kid.. Anyway back to Oblivion.
Like I was saying it's a western RPG which means it takes its self seriously - there are no cutesy characters and there are no whacky gameplay mechanics . I'm not saying that this is a bad thing but it does make the game feel a bit staid and starchy like a having a conversation with young conservative in the late 70s.
Anyway, in this game you start of locked up in jail which is pretty cool - you managed to escape or you are let out - can't remember but the Emperor gets whacked pretty early on, from then on you are on a quest to find the new heir to the empire (a bloke called Martin - not the best name for a olden days bloke) and must travel the lands to complete this quest and close some gates. Before all this you get to create you character which is pretty cool - but in some ways I prefer to be given a character (like Link) and told - "this is who you are" and "this what you look like" but I can see how some people like this feature.
Anyway, there are loads of quests in the game - which you find out about by talking to the NPCs - you can talk to anyone in the game but the conversations tend to be very dull and everyone seems to talk like they have taken tampazipan i.e. very subdued and not that interesting. I prefer the punchy one liners from the JRPG like "we have lost our chickens" rather than going through 4 branches of a conversation tree to establish the same thing.
The problem with Oblivion is it gives you too much freedom, too early - it's great to have a choice but I ended up spending ages in the first city in case I was missing some (I wasn't) when I should have been given a few more exciting missions early on.
I also found the inventory system overly clunky - trying to manage the items in the inventory was difficult you also end up collecting so much tat (rats meat and old rusty swords etc) that it becomes difficult to see what's what after a short amount of time.
I think the main problem I have with this game is that it doesn't pull you in like it should do. There was one mission where you help some farmers protect a field from some raiders (goblins) which was cool - if there were more missions like this I might have stuck with it longer.. Alas it was not to be.
I even went back to this game and started again but still couldn't get into it.
Oh well - I hate having games on the shelf that I haven't completed - or given a good go - especially ones as highly rated as this but that's the way it is. I won't sell it - as it's worth nothing and I don't want to sell any more games. I also hope, like Shenmue 2, that I might go back one day and finish it - but somehow I doubt it!
[img align=right width=200]http://www.rfgeneration.com/images/games/U-072/bf/U-072-S-01010-A.jpg[/img]After their wildly succesful Crash Bandicoot series on the original Playstation, Naughty Dog decided to venture into the unknown for the PS2 and in 2001 they came out with Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy.
I'll cut right to the chase: Jak and Daxter was one of the first PS2 games I played and has since conquered a special place in my heart. Why? Because it rocks, plain and simple.
The game's story isn't anything spectacular but serves its purpose well, for a game in the Platform-genre. Jak and Daxter are two friends who adventure to Misty Island where they find a group of lurkers (bad guys of the blocked type) being addressed by two unknown individuals. When suddenly a lurker attacks the duo, Daxter falls into a pit of Dark Eco (A purple goo) and gets transformed into an ottsel. They search help from Sage Samos who sends them on their quest to find Gol, Sage of the Dark Eco and the only one who can return Daxter to his human form.
Much more important than the story is the gameplay of a platformer, which in this case feels solid and smooth. Jak is the only playable character of the game with Daxter riding along on Jak's shoulder, letting him do all the work. Jak's moves are simple: you can jump and double jump, punch and perform a spin-kick. Your moves list may be small but animations for them are smooth. (and in Daxter's case: funny) Enemies aren't exactly difficult to defeat, but this suits the game well considering the fact you die after three hits.
To make the gameplay a bit more interesting, for a limited amount of time, Jak can attain some extra abilities after running into a beam of Eco. Green Eco charges your health, blue Eco makes Jak jump higher and run faster, yellow Eco gives him the ability to shoot blasts of energy and red Eco makes Jak stronger. Using these Eco powers is one of the cornerstones of the gameplay and is often required to complete an objective.
Objectives of the game are simple tasks which get rewarded with Power Cells, the main collectible in the game. To gain access to a next part of the world, you need a certain amount of these. Precursor Orbs are much more common and can be traded in with NPCs or special statues for more Power Cells. Also, when finding all Scout Flies in an area, you are rewarded with yet another Power Cell.
Although the gameplay might sound a bit simple and dull, it certainly isn't and this is largely due to the impressive 3D engine Naughty Dog has made for this game. Instead of seperate levels, players are thrown into a large world, devided by seperate (themed) areas. Travelling between these areas can be done through portals at each Sage's home. Loading times get avoided by streaming data from the disk while playing, enhancing to the effect of a single world.
Graphics are detailed and colorful and the cartoon-look of characters and enemies help create a laid-back atmosphere throughout most of the game.
Background music for each of the areas does its job well and never gets irritating. Sound effects are great aswell as voice-acting. Especially Daxter's voice brings life to the character's slapstick humor.
Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy is a game that set the bar for future 3D Platformers and pushed the genre as a whole to a next level. Sadly enough, 3D Platform games seem to be over their peak with few games in the genre being made for the next-gen consoles, an evolution that saddens me.
This evolution makes Jak and Daxter all the more precious and a game no PS2 owner should miss. The game gets a well-earned 9.2/10 from me.
[img align=right width=200]http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/61R54CEEVBL.jpg[/img]Lego Rock Raiders is a 1999 PC game based on the popular Rock Raiders franchise. The game is aimed at children who like the actual Rock Raiders Lego but can also entertain teenagers or adults looking for a way to spend a couple of hours.
Story of the game is simple: While cruisin' in their Lego Spaceship, the Rock Raiders get trapped in a space storm and have to make an emergency stop at the nearest planet. Only way to make it back home is by digging into the planet's caves for energy crystals to repair their ship.
Each of the 33 missions starts out with Chief briefing you in about what needs to be done. This can range from gathering X amounts of energy crystals to saving a group of stranded Raiders. Although the missions seem to embody enough variaty, the actual gameplay does not.
Rock Raiders is a Real Time Strategy (RTS) game where you spend most of your time looking for resources. What differentiates Rock Raiders from a typical RTS like Warcraft III is that gathering resources is all you do.
Like in any RTS game, building up your base is one of your primary concerns. Each building has its specific function like processing crystals, supplying your cave with air or for teleporting Rock Raiders and vehicles. Building one of these usually takes a number of ores and one or two (of the rarer) crystals.
To find ores and crystals, your Raiders need to drill in the walls surrounding them. This will not only reveal the resources inside but also expand your playable area further and further, when you discover more caves, underground lakes or even lava streams.
Occassionally, you'll run into a Rock monster that can destroy your base if you're not careful. However, placing some electrical fences or giving a couple of your Raiders lightguns will solve the problem easily.
Biggest problem of the game is that the Rock Raiders don't listen to your commands directly. You can, for example, click on a wall and request it to be drilled. Sure enough, some moments later a Raider will do so. This has probably been done to make the game easier for children (so they don't have to select a Raider individually and give him an action), but it can make the game very frustrating in the later levels. Especially when requesting a wall to be dynamited (this is required for stronger walls) it can take several minutes for it to actually happen. Also sad is that you can't save during a mission, so you need to finish missions in one go if you want to make progress.
Good thing is that graphics & sound for this game are good. Especially the graphics will appeal to the younger audience with sharp and colorful textures. Buildings and Raiders look exactly like you would expect and animations of buildings being build, raiders running around and monsters scaring your Raiders are generally good. Music is limited to some forgettable techno beats, but the sound effects and voices of the Rock Raiders are funny and informative.
Graphical variation is being offered in the form of three different cave types: normal, ice and lava. Walls and monsters also come in these three variaties.
All in all Lego Rock Raiders is an average game which could've been much better if the gameplay wasn't so repetitive and frustrating. Although the Lego fan might enjoy this, I can't recommend it for regular RTS players, looking for a diversion. 6.5/10
[img align=right width=200]http://www.sofacinema.co.uk/guardian/images/products/1/60241-large.jpg[/img]For my first review, I've decided to take up SSX 3 for the PS2.
SSX 3 is the third installment in the SSX series by EA, following the succesful launch title SSX (2000) and SSX Tricky (2001).
SSX 3 continues on the succesful formula of the previous two games in the series. In short: smooth, fast and easy to pick up gameplay combined with nice graphics and good soundtrack.
New however, is the fact that all tracks are located on the same mountain, devided into three peaks. To get access to the next peak, it is sufficient to complete the challenges in one particular aspect of the game (for example, the race events)
Depending on which character you're playing with; another character will "challenge" you on every peak. In the off-course area called "The Backcountry" you have to show him/her who's boss.
Gameplay of SSX 3 is rock-solid and the main reason I enjoyed this game as much as I did. Learning curve is very short and you'll be throwing out "Uber-tricks" in no time. After doing enough of these to spell out the words "SUPER UBER", you'll get unlimited boost for a relatively long time. The events you can take place in are: "Race", "Slopestyle", "Super Pipe", "Big Air" and "Backcountry".
By winning events and picking up collectibles on the tracks, you get the necessary cash to outfit your character as you see fit or to (more importantly) upgrade his/her attributes such as "Speed", "Tricks", "Acceleration", etc which will noticabilly improve your boarders' abilities.
Graphics of this game are very nice for a PS2 game with the snow and ice beautifully depicted as your rider glides through it. Once at the top of the mountain, you can get to the bottem of it (which takes about 30min) without a single loading screen.
I like the soundtrack of this game, which sets the atmosphere well as you participate in one of the events with songs from Basement Jaxx, Black Eyed Peace, Fatboy Slim and others. Particulary well done is how the music fades out when you're in the air for a longer period of time or when entering a cave. While not racing you get to listen to the never irritating "DJ Atomica" who briefs you in with all the latest updates on the mountain news.
All in all I can say this is a great game with solid gameplay, nice graphics and funky soundtrack which can appeal to both less experienced gamers aswell as the hardcore.
SSX 3 gets a 9.0/10 from me and I recommend it to anyone who owns a PS2.
 Professor Layton and the Curious Village, developed by Level-5 (Dragon Quest 8 and 9, Rogue Galaxy, and Dark Cloud) and published by Nintendo, is a point and click adventure along the same lines as Phoenix Wright, Hotel Dusk, Touch Detective, and many others on the DS, but it's unlike any of them. The best way I can describe the game is Brain Age on crack with a storyline. The puzzles in this game are some of the most difficult I've ever encountered in any puzzle games and totally make this game worth getting, but there is a whole lot more to this game than just the puzzles.
However allow me to explain the puzzles in this game for a moment, because they are pretty special. The main reason this game exists is because of Level-5 President Akihiro Hino's love of Head Gymnastics, a long-running Japanese series of puzzle books. Hino wanted to turn these puzzles into a video game, so he got in touch with Akira Tigo, the 82-year old author of the series and professor at Chiba University in Japan. Together, they teamed up to create more than 30 new puzzles specifically for the game, and Professor Tago allowed the team at Level-5 to use any of his 2,000 puzzles in the game. Now, Level-5 could have just released a puzzle compilation like Professor Ryuta Kawashima and Nintendo's popular Brain Age series, but they decided to take it a step further and add a story on top of it because, in Hino's words, "Prof. Tago is one of the originators of the genre, we didn’t want to be buried amongst many other similar games." Great decision, great decision. And one that caused Japanese gamers to buy it in droves. Now, Nintendo has made the decision to bring the first game in the trilogy over to the United States.
 The story is about a world renowned professor, Archeologist, and puzzle aficionado named Layton and his young apprentice, Luke. The pair is summoned to St. Mystere by the family of the recently deceased village billionaire, Baron Augustus Reinhold, who has left his whole estate to whomever can find the Golden Apple he has hidden somewhere in the village. In addition to the mystery of just where this Golden Apple is located, the townspeople are fond of puzzles and challenge each other with them. That is how most of the game's puzzles are found, by talking to citizens who talk to you and give you information about what they know...and puzzles.
I know that sounds like a minigame compilation with a story, but the thing is that Professor Layton is so much more than that. Almost every aspect of this game is a puzzle, from the various mysteries you'll have to investigate, to the collecting of painting pieces, and even decorating your hotel rooms, this game is just filled to the brim with all sorts of puzzles. As I've stated, the puzzles in this game can be very difficult at times. For example, there are typical pattern matching puzzles, but then there are ones that ask you "What is necessary for human life, appears in almost every house you've visited, and decreases in amount the longer it's around? Oh, and express your answer by moving one matchstick in a series of matches that we have laid out for you." The latter type of puzzles, while very clever and challenging, tend to stump me easily and impede my progress in the game. Damn you Level-5!
 The game also is a technical masterpiece, which is surprising considering just what kind of game it is. There are many sequences of fully animated video, the cutscenes have full voice acting, and the music is just incredible, and it all sounds amazing through headphones and even on the built-in speakers. However, I really wish they would have added voice acting for all the text in the game, because it's jarring to go from an animated sequence with voice acting to a Phoenix Wright styled text adventure.
Now, this game is a puzzle game, and will probably lose its appeal once you've learned how to solve everything, but Nintendo offers you a solution to that problem: free puzzle downloads every week over Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection! That's right, you'll be able to download an all-new brainteaser each week in order to keep you engaged in the game. The weekly puzzles do not offer you any bonus coins for use in the game, but will keep you amused for 20 minutes or so every week. It isn't much, but at least it will keep you thinking about the series until Nintendo brings the next game over (please?).
Overall, the game is an extremely challenging compilation of puzzles wrapped in a pretty good story with an awesome art style. However, the replayability issues may keep you from picking up the game at its current price of $30. I also have minor complaints about the small amount of video and voice acting, but I can deal with it as I'm a veteran of Hotel Dusk and Phoenix Wright. Keeping this in mind, I award the game...
9.3/10
Professor Layton officially comes out for the Nintendo DS tomorrow, but I managed to get my copy at Best Buy this past Wednesday. And guess what? I have reviewed this game before every major website on the internet! 
Score one for RF Generation!
If you aren't convinced that you should get the game, try out the demo over at the official website (www.professorlaytonds.com)
[Cover]
[Screenshot 1 is from the official trailer]
[Screenshot 2]
[img width=365 height=499]https://i.imgur.com/93GUoDO.jpg[/img]
I thought about doing a top 10 list this year, as I always try to do, but I'm just the latest in a seemingly endless string of writers saying 2020 was unlike any year I've seen in my lifetime. I feel like I have an excuse every year for why I didn't play as many games as I would have liked, but frankly, I feel less apologetic about it this time.
On the bright side, this was a great time to dip into the warm, fuzzy, comfort food of pixel art. I recently came across the book Arcade Game Typography: The Art of Pixel Type and hadn't seen anything like it before. As the name suggests, it highlights early gaming fonts and details the differences from the perspective of someone who is a trained typeface designer. Paging through it was just the kind of happy place I've been going to a lot this year, and I have a feeling it'll spark some interest with this group as well.
Continue reading Arcade Game Typography
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