Wednesday, June 19, 2002

Pre-June 2002 video game reviews at videoGameReviewsArchive.html. Pre-June 2002 movie reviews at movieReviewArchive.html. 2:23:03 PM    comment []

Review of Bad Company     In possibly one of the oddest movie pairings of all time, Chris Rock joins up with Anthony Hopkins in Bad Company.  In it, Rock’s character, who is a ticket scalper, had a twin brother whom he was separated at birth from.  His brother was a top CIA agent.  He was in the middle of negotiating with a weapons dealer to buy a nuclear bomb, but was assassinated, but nobody knows that because only Hopkins saw him die.  So they have 9 days to make Rock walk, talk, and look like his brother, or the dealer will most likely sell the bomb to a party that would use it against the U.S.     Despite the odd pairing, Rock & Hopkins do have plenty of on-screen chemistry, and it’s a shame that it is wasted on such a tired and clichéd movie.  Every line of dialogue, plot twist, action sequence, and character you have seen in 5 billion other cheesy action/comedies.  Rock is one of the funniest guys on the planet, but he can’t act worth a damn, and it really shows in this movie, because whenever he tries to be serious, he comes across as wooden at best.  The jokes are hit and miss, mostly miss.  This isn’t a horrible movie, but it’s so by the numbers, missing the great humor of movies like Lethal Weapon & Rush Hour.  Hopkins does a good job as usual, and a couple of funny bits by Rock save the movie from getting tedious, but ultimately, this the result of when somebody thinks that pairing two unique people like Hopkins & Rock together by itself is enough to make a movie work.     Final Grade: C+ 10:26:33 AM    comment []

Review of The Sum of All Fears         Jack Ryan (Ben Affleck) is about to be introduced to a world that’s way over his head.  The president of Russia just died, and the new president is someone he just happened to write a paper on, so he’s been called in by a C.I.A. agent (Morgan Freeman) to help advise on an intelligence conference about the new Russian president.  Ryan also goes along with the agent on a nuclear arms inspection in Russia.  When they get to the facility that is disarming the bombs, they discover that 3 Russian scientists are missing, and the explanations they are given shows that it’s quite clear that the Russians have no clue as to their whereabouts.  So  now they must discover where the scientists are and what they are doing, and time is running out.     This represents a big change in the character Harrison Ford & Alec Baldwin played.  It’s like starting the franchise over, because in this story,   Ryan hasn’t reviously done any field work, whereas in the other movies he was already an accomplished agent.  But that’s certainly not a bad move.  This is one of those thinking man action movies which means there is a lot more talking than actual action, but fortunately it’s done really well.There is no dumbing down for the audience like in a lot of movies similar to this.  The Russians aren’t evil communists, the Americans aren’t stupid capitalists, and Ryan isn’t the only smart guy in the government, he’s just lucky enough to get information the other guys didn’t.  This has all the elements and feel of a modern spy thriller in classic style (much like last year’s Spy Game).  And Affleck finally proves he can do a good action movie (which was doubtful after Reindeer Games & Pearl Harbor). Final Grade: A- 10:25:20 AM    comment []

Review of Dark Cloud for the PS2 Publisher: SCE Developer: Level 5 Inc # Of players: 1 Peripherals: None Genre: Adventure Origin: Japan Ah, how I wish that people would stop mislabeling games these days.  I actually expected Dark Cloud to be the first real rpg for the PS2, but while it incorporates a couple of traditional rpg qualities, and reminds me a lot of that horrid Dreamcast RPG called Time Stalkers (for those who don’t know, this game was the kind of game you made kids play when they’ve been bad), it, like Zelda, is not an RPG.  This would be like calling Mario 64 an RPG.  It’s an adventure game, there’s a BIG difference.  In it, you play a young hero, whose town was attacked by a general who controls an evil genie and wants to take over the world, but your town was actually saved by the fairy king, who hid the pieces of your town, and other places deep underground, so you must find these pieces and restore them, possibly even making the places you restore better in the process.  And that is the basic premise of Dark Cloud, but is it another horrid attempt at what Time Stalkers tried to do?  Or is it a big improvement?  Read on to fi nd out. Graphics: The characters look nice and move really well, but the dungeons are rather bland and lifeless, and while the towns look nice, they aren’t really anything special.  There are nice cut scenes using in game graphics strewn throughout the game, however. Sound: Surprisingly, there is no voice acting in this game, but the music is pretty well done, and the monsters all have unique sounds that seem appropriate for them.  Bats squeal, dragons roar, ghosts make freaky little shrieks, and so on. Gameplay: Ok, now here is where it gets interesting.  First, there are two minor annoyances I want to point out, the weapon hit points, and the thirst meter.  Granted, a couple hours into the game, these are only a minor detail to someone who knows enough to be well stocked in dungeons, but in my opinion, it is still more annoying than adding any actual kind of challenge or strategy to the game (and you could at least get rid of the thirst meter during the boss battles, that is the last thing you should be concerned about when taking on a major boss).  In the dungeon, the game plays just like Zelda for N64, and the controls respond well. I do like every character actually has a real advantage over the other, unlike Time Stalkers, where the hero was the only decent character, and I actually love that you can leave the dungeon and continue at the same level you left at, I never see that in these kinds of games. And of course, the big issue is the whole “georama” mode, where you put things back and rearrange things in th e towns, sort of a psuedo-sim city kind of thing.  It’s actually pretty interesting, and can eat up a lot of time if you really get into it. So, a couple of minor problems, but a good job overall. Features: Just the basics for an rpg, no more really needed, but it would still be nice to maybe start in other towns as different characters (maybe even form different parties based on what town you start from, that would be REALLY cool), or maybe some hidden towns to restore, or something. Oh well. Funfactor: Again, the fact that this reminds a lot of the utter piece of crap that was Time Stalkers, made me kind of wary of this title, but after delving into for a few hours, I can tell you that this is what Time Stalkers should’ve been.  It may be a Zelda knockoff (remember it being called a “Zelda-killer”?  I still laugh at that one), but it’s a good, fun one, and as close as you’ll get to Zelda on PS2, and should keep you entertained for quite a few hours with the different styles of gameplay it offers. --Final Scores— Graphics: 7.5-Chracters are well animated and look nice, as do the cut-scenes, but the dungeons are bland, and the towns could’ve been better. Sound: 7.0-Good music and effects, but no voice is a surprise, and nothing really epic about the music itself. Gameplay: 8.0-I like the “georama” feature, the multiple characters, the ability to continue where you left off in a dungeon.  I hate that you have a “thirst meter”(what am I, a fish?), and a weapon hit points (which was a bad idea when it was originally conceived on older games), but I get over those. Funfactor: 8.0-Sure it’s a Zelda knockoff, but it’s a fun one. Overall (not an average): 7.5-Not the killer app Sony was hoping for, but a good solid game that adds to the PS2’s slowly growing list of quality games for the system. 7:40:59 AM    comment []

Publisher: Crave Entertainment Developer: Genki Genre: Racing Origin: Japan # Of players: 1-2 Peripherals: Steering Wheel Oh joy, yet another racing sim.  I tend to stay away from these, as they are usually too realistic to be any fun, I prefer insane mayhem like Crash Team Racing, Mario Kart, Crazy Taxi, or one of the titles from the Cruisin’ Series.  But I decided I should give Racer Zero a try and see if it changed my mind, as quite a few other games have done for their respective genres lately.  For those not familiar with the concept, you buy a car, and race opponents one on in the twilight hours in the city of Tokyo.  You beat guys to get more money to buy/build a better car.  But is this a good addition to the racing genre, or just another sub-par addition to the PS2 library?  Read on to find out. Graphics:  Wow, if I based my knowledge of Tokyo on this game, you’d swear that buildings don’t exist anywhere near roads.  Now I know that this kind of racing takes place on deserted roads usually far away from the public, but while the cars look nice, the roads have little to no detail, and plenty of pop-up.  But since you have no pretty graphics to be distracted by, you can concentrate on driving more, so I’ll let that go. Sound: Bare bones sound effects.  Sure, you can hear the cars, but nothing else seems to exist on the road.  The music is unimpressive to say the least, and that’s about it. Gameplay: Well, the controls are very customizable, but it doesn’t really matter, because you never get the feeling you are actually going fast in this game.  Your car is extremely unresponsive, and moves like some blue-haired old woman is driving it. Features: Well, this is the one area they have right.  Literally tons of stuff.  Versus, time attack, quick race, lots and lots and lots of cool cars, and there’s even a preview for the upcoming street-racing movie “The Fast and the Furious”.  And if that’s not enough, there’s a documentary on street racing included also.  This was obviously to make up for the rest of the game. Funfactor: I’ll admit it, other than the idea of driving cool cars (of which the novelty wears off after 10 minutes), I’ve never gotten why driving sims are fun, because they all suffer from the same problem Racer Zero has: slow as hell.  What’s the point of a racing game where you never even get the remote idea that you are actually going fast?  It pretty much ruins the game all by itself. --Final Scores— Graphics: 6.5-Cars look nice, but roads show plenty of pop-up, and are fairly lifeless. Sound: 4.0-Little use of effects, unimpressive music. Gameplay: 3.0-You can customize controls, but when it’s this slow and unresponsive, who cares? Features: 10-The one area they get right.  Tons of modes and extras.  Obviously to make up for the rest of the game. Funfactor: 3.0-The tons of features and very cool cars make me want to like the game, but I can’t when I feel like I’m driving a tank instead of speedy sports car. Overall (not an average): 4.0-Cool features do not mean a game is good.  If they had actually worked on the control and feel, this could’ve been a great game.  Too bad for them and us. 7:39:55 AM    comment []

Review of Crazy Taxi 2 for Dreamcast Publisher: Sega Developer: Hitmaker Genre: Racing # Of players: 1 Peripherals: Jump Pack Origin: Japan Well, the Crazy Taxi Co. is back, with new drivers and possibly the craziest city in America, New York city.  Not much to explain here to those familiar with the game, because it’s exactly the same premise as the first one; use your cabby to pick up people and drop them at their destinations, giving new definitions to the term “reckless driving” along the way.  But is this really enough of an improvement over the first one?  Or is it a simple rehash of what we’ve seen before?  Read on to find out. Graphics:  Well, the graphics have never been truly impressive to begin with, but they’ve been pretty decent, and not much of a change here.  The characters still move and animate real stiffly, the buildings look fine, but no extra attention to detail.  But it more than fits with the overall style of the game, so that’s not a huge issue. Sound:  Well, if you like Offspring, you’ll love the music.  They also supposedly had Methods of Mayhem, but after several games, I still haven’s heard anything other than Offspring, so they must not be used to often.  Nevertheless, the music is perfect for the game, and adds to the crazy atmosphere of the game.  The cabbies all speak cheesy trademark cabby lines, and the passengers spout out their usual complaints, and occasional directions (for those of you who can’t figure out where the arrow keeps pointing to :). Gameplay: Ok, now, while the new cabbies just really seem like knockoffs of the originals, it still does make a difference which one you choose, as their particular cabs handle differently.  The addition of a jump button is very cool, especially when you leap over oncoming traffic!  Also new are the multiple fares, where you pick up two to four passengers at once, trying to deliver each one to different destinations.  The controls handles great, but I do kind of wish you had some sort of turbo boost for those times when 1 second makes the difference between keeping and losing your fare.  Oh well. Features: Now this is usually where Crazy Taxi rules, with its extra modes. There’s two different modes to race in the main city, replay, and of course, the crazy pyramid mode, where you have to complete many different and unique tasks to unlock hidden stuff and sharpen your driving skills considerably.  The extra modes add plenty of replay value, but how about a multi-player competitive mode, where you try and get more fares than the other players, and even try and steal fares from them?  That would’ve been very cool. Funfactor: Crazy Taxi was all about fun, and so is Crazy Taxi 2.  While not really a huge improvement over the original, it’s a lot of fun for new fans and hardcore fans of the original, with it’s various modes offering enough replay value for quite a long time.  Crazy Taxi 2 keeps it simple, and makes it fun, not much more to ask for there. --Final Scores— Graphics: 6.0-Gets the job done, but no improvements over the original, and characters move to stiffly for my liking. Sound: 9.0-Perfect music for this kind of game, but the cabbies & customer voices are kind of cheesy, but the music helps you tune them out, so it’s a good balance. Gameplay: 9.5-Excellent control, the addition of the jump button makes play even more interesting, and the addition of multi-fares is nice. Features: 8.0-Plenty to keep you entertained, but no multi-player mode. DOH! Funfactor: 9.0-Lots of replay value keeps Funfactor high. Overall(not an average): 8.0-More of an add-on than a true sequel, but it’s still Crazy Taxi, and Crazy Taxi rocks! 7:37:46 AM    comment []