Category Archives: Reviews

High Heat 2002 is Real Baseball Fun

What was I thinking last year? Why did I almost give up my copy of High Heat Baseball 2001 in exchange for that travesty called World Series 2K1? Fortunately when I saw WS in action, I immediately changed my mind, and stuck with perhaps the most in-depth baseball sim I ever played. However, there are still idiots out there who will pass on a masterpiece like this solely because the graphics aren’t all that great. Unfortunately the same thing can be said about this season, with High Heat 2002. I’ve called various software stores in the area, and they told … Continue reading High Heat 2002 is Real Baseball Fun

Mike Tyson KOs Boxing Simulators

Do you want to be just like Mike Tyson? asks the marketing release that came with Mike Tyson Boxing, "Or how about kick his ass?" "Or bite the ears off of opponents, just like Mike?" Ok, I made that last one up. Even though I like this game, I can’t help throwing in some Tyson jokes. Nonetheless, yes, I want to be like Mike, and yes, I want to kick his ass. Mike Tyson Boxing for the PlayStation is the game in which you can do both. Mike Tyson Boxing is a realistic boxing sim for 1 to 8 players. … Continue reading Mike Tyson KOs Boxing Simulators

Does EA Sports Care About AI Anymore?

Ever since EA Sports, as well as Electronic Arts, turned their back on Sega and dedicated all their services to the PlayStation2, it occurred to me that they were only concerned about a game’s visual presentation, no matter how poor the actual gameplay turns out to be. I found this out when I tried to play NHL 2000 last year, and was infuriated with the game’s poor goaltender AI and unrealistic collision physics. As a result, I ended up playing Sega Sports’ NHL 2K, a game which I really enjoyed because it had some of the best goaltender AI I’ve … Continue reading Does EA Sports Care About AI Anymore?

Madden Crushed by NFL 2K1

As one of the Dreamcast’s launch titles, NFL 2K came away as the runaway hit of the system. It was so good in fact that GiN gave it the title of Best Sports Game of 2000, being the only other game (besides the godlike High Heat Baseball series) to beat out EA Sports for this title. There were some small problems that prevented it from being the be-all, end-all of football games. The running game was pretty weak (usually getting gains of only 3 yards, 10 yards if you’re lucky), and aside from the season and fantasy modes, there was … Continue reading Madden Crushed by NFL 2K1

WWF Royal Rumble is WCW Clone

As I write this review, I am in the middle of watching the World Wrestling Federation’s Summerslam pay-per-view. In typical WWF fashion, the production is top-notch, with nary a hitch. Their rival, World Championship Wrestling (WCW) has taken a major fall from grace, and their last pay-per-view, New Blood Rising, is a perfect example. WWF and WCW video games seem to follow the same story. While I was impressed with both WWF Wrestlemania 2000 on the N64 and Smackdown! on the PlayStation, I did not like WCW Mayhem for either N64 or PlayStation. When I heard that THQ (who made … Continue reading WWF Royal Rumble is WCW Clone

Ultimate Fighting Championship takes the belt

I know we’ve all gone through a large wave of wrestling-based titles lately. Don’t get me wrong, some of them have been very good (Wrestlemania 2000 and WWF Smackdown come to mind), but most of them are from mediocre to just plain awful. The same can be said for fighting games. Aside from Capcom’s fighters, most are not worth mentioning. But those that are worth mentioning these days are now following the same cookie-cutter format as the past ten or so years. Even the mighty Capcom is falling into the trend they originated. It is about time someone added a … Continue reading Ultimate Fighting Championship takes the belt

World Series 2K1 loses big

Sega’s World Series baseball lineup, until now, always appeared a sure thing to me. It all started when I played the original World Series for the Genesis, which was developed by Blue Sky. This company was also responsible for great Genesis classics such as the Vectorman series. When the Saturn was released in 95, a new Japanese-based development house released their smash hit Greatest Nine to the states, naming it again World Series Baseball. It was one of the earlier launches capable of stealing some thunder from the EA Sports titles released for the PlayStation. As each year passed, the … Continue reading World Series 2K1 loses big

Motocross Madness 2 is highflying fun

Warning!! This game has been known to inflate the ego in lab rats and sport video game junkies, causing them to talk shmack to all their friends that can’t perform as many cool stunts. I’ve been critically infected, and as such am forced to repeat my 9300-point single stunt record to several people including my mother, who still doesn’t understand what I’m talking about. Microsoft’s Motorcross Madness 2 delivers cool stunts and great graphics. It was easy to install and just as easy to figure out. You better have a good graphics card, but then again my PII 300 with … Continue reading Motocross Madness 2 is highflying fun

Street Sk8er 2 styles on PlayStation

The skateboarding game is a genre that has taken off in the past year, most notably with the release of Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater. And while Street Sk8er 2 doesn’t quite live up to the heights of that game, it does leave you with a frantic, fun experience. Picking from a select group of skaters, you grind through the amazingly detailed and long courses of Washington DC, Moscow, London, Miami, and San Francisco. Five courses may not seem like a lot, but as your skater racks up extra skill points by winning competitions, they can access previously out of reach … Continue reading Street Sk8er 2 styles on PlayStation

Sega Sports NHL 2K scores!

Black Box has a lot to prove. After all, this is a company releasing a sports game for the Draamcast right after Visual Concepts created two titles that changed sports games as we know it, NFL 2K and NBA 2K. In creating NHL 2K, it needs to be taken into consideration that Black Box was responsible for the Saturn conversion of NHL Powerplay, the only NHL title that I feel would easily dethrone anything that EA Sports game out with (it did beat them that year, as NHL 96 for the Saturn and PlayStation ended up being scrapped). Powerplay included … Continue reading Sega Sports NHL 2K scores!