Gentlemen, Stop Your Engines

Monster Truck events are very enjoyable. There’s just something entertaining about watching a vehicle the size of a house run over a tiny Volkswagen. As the sport has grown in popularity, gathering a devoted cult audience, the demand for a good Monster Truck video game has increased. Hoping to appease this audience, developer Inland productions, along with publisher Ubi Soft, have released Monster Jam: Maximum Destruction. Unfortunately, the game’s many problems prevent it from being anything above mediocre. Monster Jam’s main mode is Season Mode. Inside Season Mode, you’ll have to pick one of three game modes (Death Match, Cash … Continue reading Gentlemen, Stop Your Engines

Sly Cooper is a Slick Title

In recent years, the gaming industry has grown quite considerably. The days of making games out of the basement are gone, replaced by huge corporations such as Electronic Arts and Capcom developing games in huge design teams. In this recent growth spurt, the number of games available to the casual player has also grown considerably. Due to this, developers have to do something unique in order to get noticed. One of the most recent examples of this is developer Sucker Punch’s Sly Cooper. The game is unique because, while still maintaining platforming elements, Sly Cooper also delves into stealth-style games … Continue reading Sly Cooper is a Slick Title

Ratchet and Clank Will Raise the Bar

One of gaming’s most heralded genres has always been the platformer. When the industry made the transfer to 16-bit systems, the platformer hit it’s stride, as games like Super Mario World and Sonic The Hedgehog reigned supreme. Things seemed like they couldn’t get any better, but Super Mario 64 soon remedied that, as it’s 3D platforming levels captivated millions. Unfortunately, ever since then, platformers have hit a wall in the creativity department. One of the biggest reasons for this is that a good chunk of platformers just became endless scavenger hunts, with some combat mixed in. Even some of the … Continue reading Ratchet and Clank Will Raise the Bar

EA Awards Us Another Medal of Honor

Finally I have found a PlayStation 2 shooter that dethrones the mighty Red Faction (at least until Red Faction 2 comes out). In fact, I have had interest in playing Frontline ever since I found out that the D-Day invasion made prevalent in Saving Private Ryan and in the previous MOH title Allied Assault for the PC, would be included. Otherwise I thought it would be another title similar to the PS1 MOH games which I admittedly was not impressed with. This time I am. Not only is the D-Day invasion in the game, it is the first mission. Like … Continue reading EA Awards Us Another Medal of Honor

Fatal Frame is Fear Squared

A long time ago Steven King produced a movie based on one of his short stories called Maximum Overdrive. Having read the story, I was pretty excited when the movie came out. But what really got me going was that King himself did television commercials to support the project. "I’m going to scare the hell out of you!" King would say. So I went into the theatre expecting a fright. Unfortunately Maximum Overdrive was so bad it was almost comical, and nothing at all like the book. So while some people say beware of Greeks baring gifts like giant wooden … Continue reading Fatal Frame is Fear Squared

Racer Revenge Takes the Checkered Flag

There’s no other way to say it, when Star Wars: A New Hope came out in 1977 it was a revolution. George Lucas, the Star Wars creator, had hit pay dirt when his excellent storytelling coupled with mind-blowing special effects that made the movie a hit with all ages. After completing the trilogy with two sequels, George Lucas left the Star Wars license alone for a while. That hiatus ended though in 1999 when George Lucas released Episode 1, a prequel to the legendary trilogy. While Episode 1 met with mixed feelings from fans and critics alike, worse things were … Continue reading Racer Revenge Takes the Checkered Flag

Pirates Rule the High Seas

I started playing Pirates: The Legend of Black Kat on a PS2 and switched over to my Xbox just as soon as I could lay my hands on my own copy of this fantastic 3D adventure game. Pirates: The Legend of Black Kat is a cross between a really good seafaring game and a really great third-person adventure game. And the best part for me was that the controls were almost exactly the same in both modes and over both platforms, so I could switch back and forth. You play as Katarina de Leon, or Kat, the daughter of an … Continue reading Pirates Rule the High Seas

Virtua Fighter 4 Kicks the Competition

If there was any title that propelled me to purchase a Saturn as early as I did, it was the original Virtua Fighter. Upon seeing it, I was immediately enthralled by the smooth animated, yet blocky looking, action. Little did I realize that when I played it the combat system would be vast. However, there were certain individuals with no particular taste whatsoever, and ended up shunning it because of how it looked, or they complained about it being too hard. As far as they’re concerned, I can just tell them to get lost and go back to shallow titles … Continue reading Virtua Fighter 4 Kicks the Competition

Starfighter is a (Laser) Blast

Star Wars Starfighter was released for the PS2 in 2001 and to the joy of Xbox owners everywhere, it has now made its way to the Xbox. It picked up some improvements along the way including a graphics tweak, new levels, and an improved multiplayer mode. Star Wars Starfighter gives you the opportunity to take on the role of three heroes. And like most Star Wars heroes, each has their own ship to pilot. You start off on a training mission learning to fly as Rhys Gallows, a young hotshot pilot who has just taken the helm of his first … Continue reading Starfighter is a (Laser) Blast

Top Gun Takes Off

You take the good, you take the bad, you take them both and there you have Top Gun: Combat Zones. First and foremost, have no illusions, you are not Maverick and there is no Goose. The only commonality this game has with the hit 80’s movie depends upon whether you’ve seen the movie and played the game. Some people disliked that the plot of the game has no substance and hated that sterile feeling the narrator gives you before you embark on a mission. I like that aspect about the game. It made the missions more realistic to me and … Continue reading Top Gun Takes Off