User Reviews

All Reviews by bluer57

X-Men Legends - Xbox

Pros Cons
Intense action Not enough content
Fantastic multiplayer Lousy camera/viewpoint
a classic comic, a classic game?

Among comic books it does not get more popular than the X-Men. Activision has sought to translate this into a video game here. The X-Men are a team of super powerful mutants fighting evil mutants and sometime a fearful society. You get most of the best know mutants like Wolverine, Cyclops, Nightcrawler, Gambit, Iceman, Storm and more. There mission is to protect a young mutant named Magma from evil mutants. This leads to bigger dangers one might guess. Besides that you get to roam around the Xavier Mansion between levels. You control one mutant in a team but can change characters during the action. Each X-Man is given a colorful and usually potent arsenal of moves. This action game has RPG elements too. You can upgrade each mutants attacks by getting experience points for defeating enemies. Like for instance Cyclops eye blast starts as small and weak. By the time you fully upgrade it is a large powerful blast. Each character has their own special moves. There are melee attacks too. There are a variety of enemies to fight. The real fun, though, is when you run into the bosses. They include Magneto, the Juggernaut, and many others. The levels involve a lot of smashing. Not just your foes get damaged though. The backgrounds and objects can get destroyed too. Breaking down walls feels good. Visually the game is average. The characters are colorful and cartoony but not detailed. However, their special moves that shoot like gambits cards are bursting with color and It gives you a feeling of their powers. The sound is equal to the graphics. It plays its role without standing out during the special moves or character voices. The biggest problem with this otherwise fun game is the camera. It uses a top down camera. Which means you cannot much ahead. Enemies can be just ahead of the screen's view and be unseen. This is a glaring weakness. It really spoils the game for me.

X-man Legends is exciting at times but it is an average game overall.

Halo: Combat Evolved - Xbox

Pros Cons
Amazing visuals  
Intense action  
Addictive gameplay  
Tight controls  
Just plain fun  
space warrior versus aliens galore


You are a space suit-armored green warrior with several guns against a whole bunch of ugly and deadly aliens (the Covenant). Looks like fun. They stand in the way of you gaining control of a large mysterious ring located in space in this first person shooter. The story is told wonderfully in this action fest. You have fellow unarmored that speak to you as you meet them. Sometimes they join you on drives in jeeps and tanks throughout the game. You have the freedom to use the vehicle as a weapon here too. Alien road kill As the game progresses the mystery seems to rise and fall. The sound of guns firing, aliens "speaking" and explosions fill the air. This game is full of well paced action. It includes surprises and tension. The splendid graphics only enhance this game. It is a world that you can travel throughout if the area is reachable. You land near a sea and gradually make your way into the Covenant base The aliens range from a small orange squealer to a large and fearsome armored spiked foe. You can blast several of those small guys in a few seconds. The larger enemies will require more patience and care. The enemies actually are smart. They looked for you after they see you as if they have a plan. If they drop weapons you can pick those up and use it on their makers. The heat seeking needlier is nice. The enemies have tricks of their own too. Some are invisible. The gameplay is great in Halo. You can fire with abandon at your foes but it would be wise to find cover and pick your attacks. This is one long single player game. The multiplayer provides fun afterwards too. You can join with friends in different types of matches and try to kill each other in differently colored armors. This is a full game.

This has so much to offer and is a star among games.

Fable - Xbox

Pros Cons
Amazing visuals Not enough content
Awesome audio  
Engaging story  
Tight controls  
many options in this adventure and rpg


This Microsoft is not for younger players despite the name Fable. This is action/adventure game is loaded with options as grow in stature in your guild. The guild is a kind of warrior school and business. You have different choices on your quest to defeat Jack of Blades goes along. Each choice affects if your character is good or bad. His appearance changes to match these actions. If you are good it effects the look of your character. He will get a halo and people will treat him with admiring words. Evil deeds like taking treasures that are in the houses of people will lead you to grow horns. You can customize your character in so many ways yourself too. He can have a tattoos, different haircuts, facial hair and armors. The graphics are excellent. The trees and water are some of the best around. The arms and armor look so pretty as the shimmer in the light. The sound is as good as the visuals. The sound of sword and other weapon strikes are vibrant. The world is not fully open but there is a lot of freedom to travel about. You can use portals to quicken travel. The story is told wonderfully with voice acting. The warrior gets a array of many weapons. Numerous swords, axes and bows fill this game. The gameplay allows you to use them with ease and effectiveness. You get a choice of many magic skills throughout. Magic can be upgraded to your liking. You can be a mainly magic user or weapon wielder or even both. That is the theme of this game- choice. This elements of the game really come to together very nicely. The problem with game is its very short length. This hits you hard. That really holds it back.

Despite so many good things the shortness of the quest makes this game average.

Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time - Xbox

Pros Cons
Amazing visuals  
Awesome audio  
Engaging story  
Intense action  
Tight controls  
Just plain fun  
a wonderful action adventure experience

Ubisoft has brought this likable game to the consoles. Many words can be used to describe it. The first thing to strike players about it are graphics and its Prince of Persia has managed to capture the prince's old world and its unique architecture and The well crafted palaces and the outsides really come to life. The main character is of course the king's son. Your quest is to remove the curse unleashed by the sands of time. A curse that transforms people into monsters. The hero is given a dazzling array of stylish moves to achieve his mission. With his sword and magic sand dagger he sets out to fight the monsters and solve the puzzles in front of him. He flips over his enemies and strikes them from behind. He has fancy sword skills to use. He also has a kick as an attack move. He can run along walls, climb ledges and swing from certain objects. The gameplay is truly precise and fluid. The sounds are great. There are clangs of swords and grunts of monsters here. All done so well. The sand dagger gives him some powers over time. One power is the ability to rewind time a few seconds. When you make a mistake just use it to correct that mistake. You can rewind falls or being hit. This is very useful. The prince tells the story throughout the game. The voice acting is top notch. The characters display this during the pretty cut scenes. It complements the sights of the game so well. The many enemies fought at one time make this a hard game. The 10 stages provide a long and fun adventure.

Every part of the game is done so well.
This is one the best games on any console.

Top Spin - Xbox

Pros Cons
Amazing visuals Not enough content
Intense action  
Tight controls  
Fantastic multiplayer  
one fun tennis game

Top Spin is a well designed tennis game published by Microsoft. It offers good graphics. The animation is done very well. If your on clay you slide when you come to a running stop. Swinging a racket feels and looks wonderful in this game. The controls are really responsive when you swing the racket to connect with the ball. As the ball and racket collide a well chosen "pop" is heard. The sound really reflects real tennis. These include sneakers grating against the surface to fans yelling player names. There is big omission in the game here though. There are no announcers calling the action. This is woeful when every sports game made has a commentary. You might get used to not having announcers while in the thick of the fast action though. The gameplay is wonderful. You can perform slice, spins, backhands, forehands and more. The players move really well. The game has several court surfaces. There is grass, clay, and hardcourt. The player models look great too. There a selection from stars like Sampras, Hewitt, Grosjean and others. There are however only ten or so real players. There should have many more to choose from. The stars look like the actual players though. There is a good player create mode. This feature is lets design choose your player's appearance and clothes and equipment. The stadiums are made well. The career mode is fun. This experience is very complete. You hand pick tourneys to play all around the world. As you win titles you improve your rankings. You get better endorsements and by doing so you more rackets and clothes.

Almost everything is done very nicely here. This an excellent tennis game.