Wednesday, June 26, 2002

Review of Outlaw Golf for Xbox     Publisher: Simon & Schuster     Developer: Simon & Schuster     Genre: Sports     # Of Players: 1-4     Peripherals: None Well, this is certainly different.  Outlaw Golf is the first golf game for the Xbox, and my first review of a golf game.  I’m not highly experienced in golf games, and not a golf fan either, but I reason any good golf game will make it fun for non-golf fans too (like the Hot Shots series) and Outlaw Golf seems like it’s tailor-made for people who a looking for a little something more with it’s outrageous characters and antics.  Unfortunately, for all it’s flair and originality, Outlaw Golf doesn’t do enough to interest none golf fans, and isn’t a good enough straight golf game to appeal to real fans. Graphics: All the character designs are great, with fantastic (and hilarious) animation.  Good effects and nice looking (although not picture perfect) courses.  But for all its supposed outrageousness, the courses all look way to normal to be in this type of game.  As long as it’s in this style, why not create some wacky courses with lots of colorful hazards? Sound: Ok, music is barely there, but voices are very well done and pretty funny, but I wish there was more variety to what they said, as all the golfers only have three different sayings at most.  The sound effects are done really well, however, with great swing sounds, and great fight effects (I’ll explain that in gameplay). Gameplay: Ok, somebody really dropped the ball here.  Tutorial doesn’t explain things well enough, no coaching mode for beginners (like when would I use a 9-iron?), and while it’s cool that you can beat up your caddy, how about being able to do more to screw up your opponent?  Beat him up to ruin his composure, replace his balls or club with trick ones, or any other zany things?  And I really don’t like how you swing your club, and the power meter is just confusing. Features: Hidden courses & golfers are nice, but how about a course editor or cool minigames? Funfactor: Again, this is another example of a great concept that just wasn’t fully followed through.  Too afraid to turn off hardcore golf fans, but desperately trying to attract non-golfers gets you something that in the end will really please neither.  This is the only golf game for the Xbox and entertaining enough for a weekend rental, so if you need a golf game, this is the only  choice, but I’d think your better off waiting for the next Tiger Woods game of Hot Shots knock off. --Final Scores— Graphics: 8.0-Good character design and animation, but no imagination in the courses. Sound: 8.0-Voices are well done, but wider variety of sayings is needed.  Surprisingly good sound effects, however. Gameplay: 4.0-Beating up caddies is fun, but the game just doesn’t do enough, and the control stinks. Features: 6.0-Normal hidden extras, but no minigames and no course editor. Funfactor: 6.0-Yet another game that had trouble making up its mind about where it wanted to go. 8:20:53 AM    comment []

Review of Freekstyle for PS2     Publisher: EA Sports     Developer: Page 44 Studios     Genre: Sports     # Of Players: 1-2     Peripherals: None From the same people who brought you the smash hit SSX comes the next big thing in extreme sports games, Freekstyle.  You play as one of many wild BMX racers attempting to do tricks while racing to the finish line on hugely wild courses.  The question of course is if it successfully repeats the classic SSX formula for a whole new sport.  Well, yes and no.  The bottom line is that no matter how different they appear, if you’ve played SSX, you’ve played Freekstyle. Graphics: I like the design of the characters, and how big and varied the tracks are.  The actions runs smooth with no real slowdown, but the graphics get fairly pixilated when there is a lot going on.  Animation on the characters is done well (and the crashes look surprisingly brutal), but overall it’s just not as smooth as it’s snowboarding predecessor. Sound: I like the voices on the characters as they are well done and really fit the characters (which is a real rarity in games like this).  The tracks aren’t my cup of tea in music, but they fit the game perfectly.  But sound effects are pretty much non-existent, and the announcer during the race just gets on my nerves (I don’t need someone telling me that I need to catch up every 20 seconds, thank you). Gameplay: Have you played SSX?  Then you’ll be very familiar.  The controls are the same (which is a good thing, since the controls in SSX were great).  This game is a little more forgiving on landings, but just as harsh if you crash as you are usually finding yourself in last place if you screwed up that bar hop on your last jump.  I really like how big the tracks are as each race actually gives you a real chance to catch up. Features: Most of the normal stuff, unlockable outfits, bikes, racers, etc. As well as your standard racing modes. The only thing I think the game could use is a course editor (making your own course would just be cool. Or a 4-player mode (PS2 has a 4-player adapter, yet no games use it, it’s such a shame).  Funfactor: If you own SSX and you aren’t much of a BMX fan, there is no reason to pick this up as it really is like an extra mode rather than a truly different game.  Not enough innovations to really make it stand out from most extremes, but it certainly a better choice for BMX fans than most of the current selection for PS2 like the Dave Mirra series, which is just pure crap. --Final Scores— Graphics: 6.5-I like the character designs, but it can get pretty pixilated when there is a lot of action going on. Sound: 8.0-Good voices, perfectly fitting music, but effects are minimal, and the announcer is annoying. Gameplay: 8.0-Same controls and style as SSX, which is certainly not a bad thing. Features: 9.0-Plenty of extras but how about 4-player or custom track editor? Funfactor: 7.5-If for some reason you’ve been living in a cave and missed all the various versions of SSX on every single system, go ahead and pick this up, but this doesn’t differentiate itself enough to really warrant itself over any other games of this style. 8:16:55 AM    comment []