User Reviews

All Reviews by Se7entySe7en

True Crime: Streets of L.A. - PS2

Cruisin' LA

Imagine if you could combine Max Payne, Dead to Rights, and Grand Theft Auto III into one game. Now imagine that that game played as well as you hoped. That game is True Crime: Streets of LA. You play as Nick Kang. An LAPD detective with a bad rep and a bad attitude. Nick's story is weaved throughout LA's seedy underworld involving russian mafia and triads. With three endings and three different paths to take, the game is very open and a great deal of fun to play. There are three parts to True Crime: Streets of LA. Driving, fighting, and shooting. All three play as if they were the main function of the game, when in fact it's a third of the game experience. Driving around LA is great. You can commandeer any car you see and interact with every NPC. Just like GTA III you have free reign over where you go in the city and what you do. Want to bring some justice to the City of Angels? Follow your trusty radio dispatcher and dish out some pain to the bad guys? Want to reak havoc and kill some people? You can do that too. But you have to remember that everything you do has consequences on the story and it's outcome. The shooting aspect of the game is a combination of Max Payne and Dead to Rights. You can dodge in any direction and slow time while you do it, you have a targeting reticle that tells you where you're aiming, and you have damage specific locations. Fighting is kind of like Enter the Matrix...but much better. The fighting in True Crime is very fluid and very natural looking. Nick Kang has several combo's at his disposal. He can learn new skills at 24/7 facilities which can teach Kang everything from driving to shooting to driving skills. The graphics in True Crime are surprisingly good, considering that almost the entire city of LA is rendered in the game, from Downtown to Marina Del Ray. Character models for the main characters are individual and stand out against one another. NPC's and car models get repeated often, but that's to be expected with the size and scale of the game itself. Everything reacts to Nick Kang. When in a fight he can kick a perp into a table and have it break into pieces. In one level at a club, I shot an amplifier which caused it to break apart and then kicked a guy into it who then got electricuted by the broken amplifier. Everything reacts to Kang which really emerses you in the story and the environment. The sound in True Crime is stellar. Sound effects are dead on. Every gun shot is unique to the weapon. When an enemy or Nick crashes into something in the environment you can hear bottles breaking and wood cracking. When driving every car sounds different. The voice acting is incredible. Russel Wong, Michael Madsen, Gary Oldman, and Christopher Walken lend their talents to the game. The soundtrack is a nice mix of licenced tunes. Snoop Dogg, Taproot, and NERD among others, all lend their music to the game. Theres nothing like crusing around LA in a lamborgini-like convertable while listening to Poem by Taproot, believe me! But, it doesn't stop there. On the X-Box you can rip your own tracks into the game and create your own playlists. True Crime is a great game that no one should be without. Unlockable features and alternate endings, and the chance to play as Snoop Dogg. Buy it. Now. What are you doing still reading? Go get it. Suck it up and lay down the $49.99. Go on!

Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne - PS2

No Payne, No Gayne...

Max Payne. Not just the name of a wrestler from the late 80's, early 90's, but now an icon in the gaming business. It was the name of the first game to capture John Woo's style of movie making in which time slows down during a dodgeing sequence. The first Max Payne told the story of the title character's revenge on those who killed his family. It was an intriguing story for an intriguing game. It's unique graphical novel style of storytelling coupled with the innovative bullet time system made it a classic in it's own right. Everyone who played it loved it and couldn't wait for more. Well...more is now here in the form of Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne. First off let me say that the horrid dream sequences from the first are gone. There are still dream sequences, don't get me wrong. However, I almost jumped out of my seat and did a little jig when I finished the first dream without needing to follow some god-awful blood trail in an empty pitch black space. The dream sequences that Max has are very interesting and show his deepest, fears and thoughts. But thank god for no blood trail. If you've played the first Max Payne (and if you haven't you must be some form of mutant kept chained in the basement by his twisted parents)then you know what to expect. Max goes through a level, shooting up the bad guys with dual pistols, uzis, desert eagles, what have you, and uses bullet time to slow down time in order to achieve his goal. One of the newer additions to bullet time is that when you're in bullet time mode, the more guys you kill, the faster Max Payne moves, and the slower the bad guys move. This makes it easy to clear out a room of 6 or 7 goons without breaking a sweat. However, that also means that you face more bad guys as a whole throughout the game. Which means that you'll be using bullet time a lot more, right from the beginning in fact. The graphics in MP2 have had a great overhaul. While not the best looking game out there, it still looks better then the original in many respects. Max himself looks completely different then the first game and actually has facial expressions which is nice. Max's leather coat looks better then ever and flows behind him. MP2 also uses rag doll physics as seen in games such as Hitman 2. Meaning that when a guy gets hit with a shotgun at point blank range, he flies back through a pile of boxes, into the wall and slumps to the ground like a sack of beaten hampsters. It all looks very real and very nice...in a gory not so nice way. The sound in MP2 is nice. Every gun has a unique sound and the voice acting is just as good as the original. The voice behind the Payne returns for the sequal and is just as gritty as ever. Some of the lines are still pretty cheesy, but hey what can you do? You can still hear Payne's heart beat during bullet time, as well as bullets whizing by and hitting other objects around you. All in all a very good game worth playing. It's a worthy sequel to the original. Definately have a look!

Bully: Scholarship Edition - Xbox 360

School's Never Been So Much Fun

I had the great misfortune of missing Bully when it first came out for the PS2. I had heard that it was a fantastic game, but at the time I just didn't have the money to pick it up. Now that it's come around again on the Xbox 360, I couldn't pass it up a second time, and boy I'm glad I didn't. I understand that there were a few issues with the game that Rockstar needed to fix. I was lucky enough to not experience any of these issues as I started playing the game about a week after the patch had already been released. So I'm basing this review off of my experience with the game which was phenomenal. You begin the game as Jimmy Hopkins, a trouble maker who has been expelled from every school he's ever attended. His mother, at her wits end and about to leave on a year long honeymoon with her 5th husband, drop Jimmy off at the gates of Bullworth Academy, a rich boarding school located, you guessed it, in the town of Bullworth. Jimmy is immediately ridiculed for being the new kid. He's beat up, picked on, and quickly makes enemies with not only the kids, but teachers and the overzealous prefects as well. The game follows a typical Rockstar sandbox formula, giving you free reign of the school grounds (including the main class building, 3 dorms, the library, the gym, the auto shop, and the football field) and eventually the entire town of Bullworth (consisting of a residential area, 2 downtown areas, a carnival area, the beach, an industrial area, and a slums area). Needless to say the environment that Jimmy finds himself in is massive and he can use his feet, bikes, skateboards, and mopeds to get around. As the game progresses Jimmy learns new fighting moves and gains new weapons (slingshots, stinkbombs, fire crackers, and a potato gun to name a few). Not only must you complete missions for various characters (taking a page from the GTA handbook). But you must also attend class (Art, Geography, Math, Biology, Music, English, Gym and more). If you skip class or break any other rules (violence against other students, being out of uniform, and various forms of mischeif) you can be sent to detention or worse yet, back to class. Like any Rockstar game worth it's salt, the main story is only part of the game. There are so many activities to take part in in Bully that there's always something to do. Whether you want to start a paper route to pick up extra money, get involved in a boxing tournament at the local boxing club, race bikes or go karts, or head down to the carnival and play games or hop on some rides, you're never without something to occupy yourself. Jimmy controls, pretty much like a carbon copy of any of the GTA characters and it works just fine in the game. Anyone who's played a GTA game will feel right at home here. The only place where Bully falters is in the graphics department. While improvements have been made over the PS2 version, the game still doesn't look on par with the rest of the 360's offerings. Pop in, clipping are evident (more so with NPC's than Jimmy) and the collision detection is a little bit off, but no more so than GTA San Andreas. Is it noticable? At times. Does it get in the way of the gameplay? Absolutely not. With a funny, interesting and well crafted story, solid controls, and outstanding gameplay, Bully: Scholarship Edition is an amazing game. I highly recommend it for anyone that wasn't able to play it on PS2 and for those looking to give the game another go.

Dark Sector - Xbox 360

One Part Gears of War, One Part RE4, All Parts Awsome

Dark Sector started off as one of the first next-gen projects. It promised great gameplay, eye popping visuals, and an engaging story. Now, it's finally here and it certainly delivers on those promises. Dark Sector puts you in control of Hayden Tenno, a bad-ass secret agent in the vein of 24's Jack Bauer. His mission begins with the infiltration of a military base in the fictional Soviet nation of Lasria in order to assassinate an informant that has been discovered by the enemy. The twist is, that there is a dangerous virus hanging in the air and Hayden soon finds himself infected. the story then goes into a much deeper plot, involving betrayl, intrigue, and lots and lots of blood. The game plays like a mish-mash of Gears of War and Resident Evil 4 and that definately isn't a bad thing. Those who have played RE4 will be right at home with the over-the-shoulder targeting system. Those with Gears of War experience will be very comfortable with the sprint button and cover system. The gunplay in teh game is very similar to those two titles, but the interesting and most fun weapon in the game is Hayden's glaive. Remember the virus that infects Hayden at the beginning? Well it seems to be a blessing in disguise at it allows Hayden to create a metallic bladed weapon in the palm of his hand. The glaive acts in a boomerang-like fashion, returning to Hayden after each deadly throw. The game gives you complete control of this weapon from controlling it in mid-flight to adding elemental modifiers like fire and electricity. Decapitating an enemy with the glaive never and I mean NEVER gets old. There's something satisfying about controlling the glaive in mid air, directing it towards an enemy, and watching him scream for help as he tries to run away. That's the cool thing about Dark Sector. Where in most games of this nature, you are on the run from some kind of monster. But in this game, you are the thing that goes bump in the night. The graphics in Dark Sector are really something to behold. Right on par with Gears of War in the visuals department, Dark Sector gives the world a bleached out, almost colorless look. The frame rate is steady (at least on the XBox 360)and the textures are top notch. The game provides an eery musical score that definately provides tension and a sense of dread in the player. Voice acting is right on the money as Michael Rosenbaum (Lex Luthor in Smallville) provides the perfect tone for Hayden. The sound effects for bullet hits and the disctinctive whine of the glaive round out a really decent sound package for the game. Dark Sector does include an online multiplayer component. Two modes are included. The first can almost be described as a "kill the carrier" type deathmatch. Where someone starts of as Hayden, with all his powers. The next person who kills Hayden, then becomes Hayden. The match continues until time expires or you reach the desired kill limit. The Second mode is a team deathmatch mode with one Hayden on each team. The team is tasked with killing the other teams' Hayden first. The multiplayer is...okay, for lack of a better word. It's engaging for a little while, but gets old quickly. There really isn't anything to keep the player coming back. Once you try each mode (and get the accociated achievements), there really isn't anything to make you want to pick it up and play again. Dark Sector is a great game from start to finish. An interesting story, a never-gets-old play mechanic, great gun-play, and a nifty weapons upgrade system make this a must have for any action game junkie. Sure the multiplayer is a little lackluster, but the single player more than makes up for this. Definately recommended.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - Xbox

A Nostalgic experience

It's amazing how videogames can make you think of your past. I can still remember playing Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Arcade for the original NES and how much fun it was for you and a buddy to go walking through a level and just beat the snot out of anyone and everyone who got in your way. Teenage Mutant Nunja Turtles for the X-Box brings back those familiar, nostalgic feelings. The game contains the usual fair. Choose one of the four turtles (Leonardo, Donatello, Michelangelo, or Raphael) and go through 10 stages of foot ninjas, mousers, and goons. In the game each turtle is armed with his own classic weapon each with their own strengths and weaknesses. Michelangelo is fast with his nunchucks so his attacks are quick, but weak where as Donatello has his Bo which is somewhat slow but strong. Leonardo and Raphael fall inbetween those two. Each of the turtles possesses his own unique combos that can be performed by alternating between the strong and weak attack buttons. They're movments are fluid and look pretty cool in their own right. Enemy AI is non-existant as they pretty much exist for the sole purpose of being defeated. They are not very hard to defeat at all. The bosses aren't too hard either, though at times they can be a bit cheap. Just wait until you get to the Element Ninjas in the museum level. Co-op mode is nice but I have one question. Why only 2 players? Why not 4? Kicking butt with one friend is nice. Kicking butt with 3 friends is better. Ears open Konami? The turtles make a nice transition from 2D to 3D. The game goes for a slightly cell shaded look which emphasizes the cartoon on which the game is based. Sound effects appear on screen like "Bang!" and "Thok!" which adds to the comic book/cartoon feel of the game. "Mike-a-Saurus-Rex!" Get used to that phrase because you'll be hearing it over and over and over and over again in this game. Every turtle has maybe 3 phrases that are used constantly to the point where I had to turn the sound down on my TV to avoid hearing them anymore. The hit effects are bland and recycled. Raph and Leo share the same attack sounds with their blades as do Mikey and Donny with their wooden weapons. The music is forgettable, techno, midi-mixed trash. All in all Turtles is a good rental game to sit down with and play through once for a thrill or an old memory. Grabbing a buddy just makes it all hte more fun. But don't expect anything groundbreaking or eye popping. Worth a rental, not the $39.99 price tag.