User Reviews

All Reviews by nolife37

The Red Star - PS2

Paying homage to some classic games

Despite being in limbo for a while after Acclaim went under, The Red Star turned out alright. It doesn't look the best, the character models are a bit crude, but the key thing here is the variety in game styles. This game is part Contra, part Streets of Rage, part Loaded, and part Gradius all rolled into one. There's many little quirks and nuances from past games everywhere, you can really tell who inspired these developers. When you come across a "Kontrawall" you'll know what I mean. Makes us old school gamers get all nostalgic when we play a game like this. It's not a blockbuster, must have title, but it's still a pretty fun throwback to when games were simple yet still challenging. Each enemy presents a different challenge because they all have a different way they can be defeated. It's not all blasting and slashing everything in sight, there is a bit of strategy in there, which is nice. Each of the three playable characters have their own strengths. One is strong and slow, one is fast and a bit weaker, but all of them balance out pretty well. Sound is decent, the game is even in dolby surround. Control is ok as well, although for a twitch game, the characters move a little slow for my taste. Two player coop was a smart addition as well. This game would probably be a blast with a friend. Why the low score? Well, it's not really a groundbreaker, but the melding of the multiple old school styles like this is the first time I've seen it. It's a little crude in some departments. Some extra refinements here and there would have turned it into an eventual classic in the eyes of older gamers. It's a decent game by itself if you're not experienced in older games, but it made me smile a few times with the little similarities to games I remember from the past. If you're an old school gamer or a gamer who wants a taste of a few classic styles of gameplay, definitely give this one a rent.

Medal of Honor: Vanguard - PS2

Another WWII Shooter

The Medal of Honor series pretty much cemented the WWII shooter genre into the console market with the first one being on the original Playstation and receiving rave reviews. After 11 (or more) different games on consoles, handhelds and PC. This series, and it's genre are tired. The last great MOH game in my opinion was Frontline, and lets face it, there are a truck full of clones, spinoffs, and "we can do that too" games all covering WWII. Vanguard plays well, but is painfully short. Easy to beat in an afternoon. It looks pretty good, although there is the occasional hiccup when a lot is happening. Sound is standard fare for the MOH series, they always sound great. Control is alright, it could be a little more precise. A lot of the time you'll be peering down the ironsights because trying to shoot anything without them is a waste of ammo. Weaponry is the usual as well. M1 Garand, MP40, STG77, Kar98, BAR, Thompson SMG, the occasional Bazooka and of course, grenades. EA claims they added weapon upgrades to this version.....it's extremely limited. A scope for your M1, and extended clips for your Tommy. They don't carry over between missions or campaigns and you pretty much have to trip over them in some obscure spot to find them. No online multiplayer, only offline, and only 4 game types. All in all....in my opinion, another rehash from EA trying to milk every last drop out of a tired franchise and genre. Playable, but rent it, not worth buying.

Burnout Dominator - PS2

Another tired franchise

The first Burnout was kind of a sleeper. And the next few had a good following due to the additions of different game and race modes. This one is a stripped down version. It's all racing, although there are some variation to the types of races. The track roster is small, you'll be leaving skid marks over the same places quite often. The sense of speed and the thrill of drifting around a long turn is still there. The crashes seem a little less spectacular although the effects seem to have improved a little overall. The soundtrack is lackluster. How many versions of Avril Lavigne's "Girlfriend" do we need to listen to, I don't care if it's in a different language. Luckily, you can choose which songs will play. I weeded down to around 6 songs I could tolerate. The controls are good, each car handles a little differently. Visuals are rock solid although I occasionally had an oncoming car come out of nowhere for me to run into. All in all, not a bad racer. The sheer number of races makes it somewhat tedious and the fact that they excluded some game modes that were in previous installments makes me think that this one was another last ditch cash grab title for the previous generation consoles.

God of War 2 - PS2

Haven't we done this before?

The first God of War was great. This one kind of feels like a version 1.75. Sure, it's a continuation of Kratos' story and has a few new additions but it's still a romp through Greek mythology hacking your way through tons of uglies. Just like the last one. The visuals have improved a bit. I'm still wondering how they managed to include a high res mode in there, the game looks great as it is. Controls are good, although a way to manipulate the camera would have been nice. Sound is good too, but the voice acting can get a bit over dramatic at times. Did I mention this game is absolutely brutal? Some of the finishers on the bad guys are downright vicious. I'd hate to get into the mind who came up with those. All in all. A beautifully executed first party title the second time around. Yeah, I have a problem with sequels.

Final Fantasy XII - PS2

Maybe I'm getting harder to impress.

Can't complain about the graphics or sound. They're some of the best you'll find on the aging PS2. Facial animations and the amount of detail in everything is amazing. And VERY few framerate drops. The control isn't bad either, it's sufficient to what is needed. Although the menu system can be cumbersome at times when trying to hunt down a particular special attack or spell. The Gambit system (programmable AI for the characters) definitely comes in handy. Without it, the game would be a micro-managing nightmare. It's nice that Square made the game to be played an unlimited number of ways with the various weapons types and skills unlike some of the earlier games. It allows for a lot of flexibility when it comes to character development and equipment. Unfortunately, money is hard to come by, unless you like killing critters for hours upon hours, leaving little resources to experiment. Still, the game is pretty easy to lose 100 hours in if you feel like doing some exploring or taking contracts from NCP's to kill special MOB's in events called Hunts. There isn't a whole lot of sidetracks like minigames in this one although I did come across some cleverly hidden sidequests. And you have Hunts, a lot of them. Some are extremely tough and require some puzzle solving. The story is alright, nothing too spectacular and pretty much standard fare for Final Fantasy. I do have a gripe about how the story progresses. After you complete one part of the story, the next part is in an area farthest from where you are nearly every time. And the best way to go, so you're not so short on levels or money, is by foot. Other than that, not a bad game.