Lego Star Wars for the GameCube, despite releasing six months after its sister versions for the PlayStation 2 and Xbox, is the same fun adventure you’ve experienced before. It’s got the primary characters for all of the first three episodes; it’s got gorgeous, realistic environments that Star Wars is known for; and it’s got a plethora of little tricks, force powers, extras, and secrets, and thanks to the GC version, it’s now got them – intact – on the market’s most family-friendly console. If this seems like a recipe for success, it is.

Lego Star Wars comes complete with the saga’s first three episodes, a bonus “episode”, and a ton of goodies to collect, including character biographies, tips, and gameplay extras (super large blasters, moustaches, invincibility, and about a dozen more). The game begins by casting players as Qui-Gon Jinn and Obi-Wan Kenobi (you can “tag” characters to determine whom you’d rather control) and sets them in Dexter’s Diner, the HQ of Lego Star Wars. Characters you unlock as you proceed throughout all the episodes will appear in the Diner and you’ll then be able to use them in free mode, but as you first begin, you’re stuck in story mode with only one episode and one level available: Episode I, level one. Each episode has at least five levels, and each level can only be unlocked by playing through its proceeding one. The fact that Traveller’s Tales connected all the episodes to the Diner and then encouraged players to experiment with the surroundings is more than cute, as it quickly gets the game’s main point across: to proceed in this version of the Star Wars universe, you’ll have to use the force – a lot. Each item in the Diner is surrounded by a green aura as players position Qui-Gon in front of it; the green symbolizes that the item is “force-ready”, which means that players can use the force to float the item and shake it until coins – currency used for purchasing extras – pop out. After you’re done exploding soda cups and attacking Obi-Wan, it’s time to head through the first door and begin your Star Wars adventure.

Each level in Lego Star Wars is gorgeous, intricately detailed, and very befitting of the Star Wars universe. As each episode only sports five-six levels, each level is chosen for portraying some sort of important, action-packed event, so you’ll run through swamps (stopping only to marvel at your reflection in small pools), fly through space (while admiring all the bright explosions and swarming enemy vehicles), and fight through hordes of enemy droids to approach Darth Maul, Count Dooku, or even Darth Vader, and all in style. Though the environments are realistic, they’re full of lego objects and parts just waiting to be assembled by someone strong in the force, and a lot of these objects can be adjusted to enable players to reach secret locations and obtain extra goodies; in this regard, level layouts cleverly accommodate these bonuses without paying for it in loss of realism, as areas feature scorching hot lava pools, gentle patches of smoke, and beautiful overhead skies.

When it comes to featuring the characters of the Star Wars saga and then actually making use of them, Lego Star Wars takes full advantage. From Anakin and Amidala to Padme and the most meaningless trooper, every character receives a quaint lego redesign and a special power. Jedi use the force, characters with blasters can climb, droids open locked doors, and even Jar Jar has a unique super-jump ability; all of these powers are used to navigate throughout the game’s many small puzzles. Each character controls smoothly, moves fluidly, has a subtle fighting stance, and feels right at home on the GameCube. Each character is of course made of lego blocks and sports a non-lego weapon (blaster or lightsaber) and a detailed (if stereotypical) head. Darth Maul’s got the red painted face; Yoda’s present with a wrinkly, green head; and even R2-D2 rolls around with lego feet and a spinning top. Character design is adorable, and you’ll enjoy characters’ quirky motions and simplistic facial expressions as well as their little screams as their lego body parts are severed.

Perhaps to break up the monotony of using the force to build bridges, slicing droids into pieces, and scouring the environment for coins, Traveller’s Tales included a few shooting/racing environs. These sections are more difficult than the average level and are a little repetitive as every time you make a mistake, you start back from the last check point (and you’ll be making a lot of mistakes as you adjust to the different level style), but they’re fun and more fast-paced. Players can compete in the pod-race or soar through the skies while shooting down enemy ships, and although there are only three levels of this action, they’re welcome variety.

As we’re essentially living in a sea of one-player epics, it’s nice to see Traveller’s Tales offering players a two-player option that both children and adults can easily take to. To activate two-player “mode”, simply insert a second controller and hit the start button. The manual even includes a list of basic tips for adults who have never played (modern) videogames before along with encouragement to take part in a child’s playtime, and considering that the Star Wars franchise is loved by both the young and the old, Lego Star Wars is the perfect product to do so and very family-friendly.

The audio elements sound very Star Wars authentic. There’s the steady hum of the drawn lightsaber; the pitter-patter of lego feet on land or wading through small pools of water; the great, ever-present Star Wars soundtrack and boss battle theme music; the clink of money as it hits the floor; and the shake, rattle sound as items are jiggled to produce coins.

There’s very little that Lego Star Wars does wrong, but its biggest fault is the lack of a manual targeting system. Though the targeting is automatic, a manual system would have been of great help during certain segments (like the Darth Maul fight, where you have to reflect blaster beams back at droids but can’t control the direction). The camera can also be a pain as you can’t control it at all, though the times when you really need to are rare.

As you’ve heard before, this game is a fairly quick ride, and while it’s enjoyable and cute there’s no substance and thus, even with the ability to replay all the levels in story/free mode, once you’ve gone through the episodes you’re probably done.

Some people may bemoan the fact that they have to play all the episodes in order during story mode to unlock everything in free mode, or that some of the more dramatic scenes (which would have been expressed comically in lego-form) are absent, but these aren’t devastating losses.

In two-player mode, it’s been discovered that you can accidentally attacking your teammate. In one-player, your teammate is practically useless, except in rare circumstances when s/he’s needed to stand on a button, so I assume this balances out.

And finally, there’s no voiceacting, but this is a little quirk that doesn’t detract from the game at all.

Lego Star Wars is a fun, adventurous one or two-player game for the whole family, and it features all the recent Star Wars lore and more active scenes for those who just love a good, old fashioned Star Wars fight. It’s a quick trip, though, and the game is quite easy to play, even with the few difficult puzzles and racing/shooting sequences. If you have any appreciation of Star Wars at all, Lego Star Wars deserves a look.

Fun and imaginative, though short and overly simplistic. Good two-player option.

Lovely environments and nice special effects, but nothing too high caliber. Cute characters.

The superb Star Wars soundtrack, but no voicework. Solid ambient noises, though.

You’ll enjoy it, but you’ll enjoy it more with a friend.

Some of you are going to love finding all the extra secrets in each level.

]]> Mon, 16 Jan 2006 14:01:00 -0600 The Gaming Horizon Archive http://www.gamebump.com/go/gh_review_mario_party_7_ngc http://www.gamebump.com/go/gh_review_mario_party_7_ngc http://www.gamebump.com/go/gh_review_mario_party_7_ngc# This review was originally published on Gaming Horizon, GameBump's predecessor. Its format does not match our own but we support its content. It was written by Eric Dayday.

Even with the GameCube treading on its last legs and ‘Cube owners starved for new games worth buying, Nintendo’s uber-mascot, Mario, continues to show up everywhere, including in some EA games, most notably SSX On Tour and NBA Street Vol. 3. There’s also the upcoming Mario Strikers, but probably the most popular multiplayer Mario game is the seemingly never-ending Mario Party series and now we’re given another serving of it in Mario Party 7.

The Mario Party franchise has been around since the golden days of the N64, so if you haven’t heard about the games or have no clue what they’re about, you’ve done a fairly good job of avoiding Nintendo like the plague. The basic premise of the game is a bunch of minigames slapped together in the form of a board game. The objective of the game is to finish the game, which is ended after a set number of turns of your choosing, with the most stars. Stars can be earned in different ways, but the most obvious one is to land on a spot where a star is sitting. Getting to where the star is, however, is where all the adventure lies.

Those of you familiar with the series will feel very comfortable with MP7 since it’s relatively unchanged from the previous entry as the microphone is also bundled here. The biggest difference is that there are new minigames to tackle including new 8-player ones. The other difference is that the game takes place upon a cruise ship, which sets up the story. Mario has invited all of his friends to go on a cruise with him, including Wario and Waluigi. Bowser is angered at being left out and decides to crash the party. This, of course, explains why Bowser is on the board to give players such a hard time. As players rotate through their turns, a meter will slowly fill and when it does, prepare for something nasty from the big boy. He’ll steal some coins (and in some cases force you to buy something, which is 95% of the time totally useless) or take away a turn or move you back a few spots; the worst thing he can do is steal a star from you. Trust me when I say that hurts sometimes, especially when it knocks you into a tie with someone or creates a situation in which it’s impossible to recover. What he’ll do is random, so some luck is required when that meter fills.

Earlier I mentioned that there were new minigames, 86 in total, with the addition of 8-player minigames. How is that possible when there are only four GC controllers? Simple, teams of two share the controller, each taking one side of it. These minigames will take quite a bit of coordination and communication amongst teammates. If you’ve played the co-op mode in We Love Katamari, then you know exactly what to expect – bouts of fighting with each other because you can’t work together followed by copious amounts of yelling. That isn’t the case all the time and when you have a full 8-person party going on, it’s definitely fun to watch each other struggle. The addition of the 8-player games is great and up the party value of Mario Party 7 exponentially. The biggest problem is even if you don’t have 8-players and decide to keep those games included during gameplay, you could always control both sides of the controller yourself. But come on, where’s the fun in that?

The minigames themselves aren’t overly challenging, usually only requiring the use of three buttons at most – the analog, A/B, and the occasional shoulder button. Their simplicity, however, is their greatest strength as it makes it an easy pick-up-and-play, which would most likely be the case for some people when gathering four or more players together. And that’s also not to say that the simple nature of the minigames is boring. Considering the frequency at which the minigames pop-up, you’ll quickly grow to appreciate it. And if you want, you can totally bypass the whole board game part and just binge on minigames if you want in the arcade mode. But without the board holding it all together, just playing the minigames gets monotonous after going through a couple of them.

The problem with all of this is the fact that it really is more of the same. Even with the novelty of the microphone introduced in MP6 and new minigames to play, it’s still the same thing we’ve seen for the last five years or so. And the variety in the minigames gets old after a little while because some of them are the same game, just with altered instructions. For example, a 1-vs.-3 minigame where the one is on the offensive and the three are on the defensive is switched around and is considered as another minigame counting towards that total of 86.

Another thing is the graphics. Now they aren’t horrendous, per se, but they haven’t progressed through each entry. It suffers from the same problem as the gameplay – it’s stale. It seems like they’re just churning out Mario Party games like a machine with no regard to actually trying to do something new with the series. The addition of the mic was good, but they did that with MP6 already. At this rate maybe we’ll see a camera for Mario Party 12 on the Revolution.

Finally, as with the other games in the series, it just isn’t fun as a single-player game. Yes you can play the board game and the minigames against AI controlled opponents, but it isn’t any fun. Even with two people it isn’t all that great. This is really meant to be played with a handful of people. But, if/when you do get the max eight players, it definitely becomes the ultimate party game.

If you’ve skipped out on the last few entries in the Mario Party franchise and always have a group of friends to play this game with, then by all means go on and get it as you and your buddies will have a blast. However, if you’ve played Mario Party 6, or even 5, or would be playing this single-player most of the time, then you may not want to consider shelling out the dough for it. Mario Party 7 looks, feels, and plays exactly like every other Mario Party ever made. The new 8-player games, new boards, and new minigames aren’t enough to differentiate it from anything else you’ve seen served up by the pudgy plumber and friends.

Easy to pick-up-and-play which makes it the ultimate party game for a group of people.

A little cleaner than the previous ones, but in general, still looks like them.

Same deal as with the graphics – the same bloops and bleeps you all know.

When there are 3 or more players, it’s off the charts. As a one-player game, it’s pretty boring

You’ll come back to play the 86 minigames and other boards as long as it’s not just you playing

]]> Sun, 11 Dec 2005 21:25:00 -0600 The Gaming Horizon Archive http://www.gamebump.com/go/gh_review_karaoke_revolution_party_ngc http://www.gamebump.com/go/gh_review_karaoke_revolution_party_ngc http://www.gamebump.com/go/gh_review_karaoke_revolution_party_ngc# This review was originally published on Gaming Horizon, GameBump's predecessor. Its format does not match our own but we support its content. It was written by Matthew Call.

The crazy cats at Konami have done it again. The same company responsible for the Dance Dance Revolution series has created a series of karaoke games. Karaoke Revolution Party is the first of the series to appear on the GameCube, and while it succeeds at delivering an in-home karaoke experience on the ‘Cube, it doesn’t quite measure up to the versions of the game on the PS2 or the Xbox.

The best thing about the game is its novelty. Who would have thought a few years ago that gamers would be plugging microphones into their consoles and singing along to tunes and actually enjoying themselves? Well apparently someone did, and the results are fantastic. Watching one of your good gaming buddies trying to sing along to Madonna’s Material Girl is about as unique an experience as you’re going to find in gaming today. This is one of the best party games out there, since it’s just fun to watch people, especially those who aren’t videogame veterans, sit down and enjoy playing a game together.

What’s even more astounding is that the game actually works. As you sing there is a sort of musical staff on the page and lines appear telling the player how high or low the notes are and when they should be sung. When it’s time to sing an arrow appears on the screen and indicates how high or low the player’s voice is in relation to the melody that the game is looking for. Players gain points for keeping their own vocal cords on pitch, and the longer they manage to stay on tune, the more points are earned. Male gamers with low voices need not be concerned since the game can also tell if the player is on pitch an octave below the normal melody. Amazingly enough, the game is pretty good at determining when gamers are on tune, although those with trained vocal cords and a bit of vibrato may have to tone down their vocal quality for the game to register their singing properly.

The game also features a great deal of flexibility because there are several different gameplay modes to choose from. In addition to regular karaoke, there are minigames like Pong that allow the player to control the paddle using his or her voice, which can be mildly entertaining. There are also several ways to play karaoke, either with whole songs or abbreviated versions, alone or against other players. Players can have karaoke parties where they challenge their friends to see who has the best set of pipes, or they can work together to unlock new songs and outfits within the game. If players are fortunate enough to have Mario Party 6 with its accompanying microphone they can use two microphones in the game and play in duet mode (more microphones can also be purchased at Nintendo’s online store for $10). There is also a sing and dance mode if gamers have Dance Dance Revolution Mario Mix and its accompanying gamemat.

Character creation is also entertaining. There are several pre-made characters to play straight out of the box, and all of them are completely customizable. Gamers can change skin color, hairstyle, body type, clothing, and accessories on the avatars until they create one that fits their particular self-image. These avatars are then saved onto the memory card so gamers can choose their character each time they play the game. The character creation system has quite a bit of flexibility so it’s fairly simple to quickly create an avatar that looks at least slightly similar to anyone who sits down to play the game.

Last but not least, the variety of tunes available in the game is impressive. The songs run the gamut, from modern day to the 80’s (lots of 80’s), and even back to Frank Sinatra. Some of the artists featured include Madonna, Tears For Fears, Michelle Branch, Ashley Simpson, Hillary Duff, Incubus, and Queen. While the songs unfortunately don’t include the voices of the original singers, the covers in the game sound fairly similar to the originals and are pleasant on the ears.

While the game’s novelty is its strength, the novelty wears off quickly and soon gamers will want to look elsewhere for their entertainment. Even with the variety of gameplay modes gamers will tire of singing into the microphone for hours on end. The game begs to be played with other people, and while gamers can play alone to unlock more content, only die-hard karaoke fans will want to sit in front of their ‘Cubes and sing alone for any extended period of time.

Of the Xbox, PS2, and GameCube versions of the game, the GameCube is by far the weakest. The Xbox allows gamers to download more songs for a fee over Xbox Live, adding some new life to the game once players get tired of the song selection. The PlayStation 2 version is compatible with the Eye Toy, allowing players to insert their own likeness into the game. Both the Xbox and PlayStation 2 versions allow gamers to use USB headsets as microphones so Socom and Rainbow Six veterans out there won’t have to scramble to find another microphone for two-player karaoke action.

The game could also benefit from shorter songs. Most of the full length songs go on for about four minutes, which is a very long time to stand up and sing in front of one’s friends, especially when they are waiting for a turn. The game does allow gamers to shorten the songs, but only to about two minutes, which is still too long. Also there are only a few songs that will appeal to any particular gamer. The game’s variety is amazing, but unfortunately while it appeals to everyone, it only appeals to each gamer with a few songs.

Karaoke Revolution Party is Nintendo’s first foray into the karaoke scene, and it pulls it off pretty well. The game is especially entertaining the first time gamers sit down and play it. Unfortunately, unless gamers are fans of the karaoke genre, the game does lose its novelty quickly. Also, if gamers have a PS2 or an Xbox in addition to the ‘Cube, they are better off playing it on one of those systems since the ‘Cube doesn’t have as many peripherals or Xbox Live. However if gamers are limited to the ‘Cube and want a Karaoke game, Karaoke Revolution is a good choice (and the only choice for now). Getting a second microphone is highly recommended as it makes the game much more entertaining.

Karaoke on a console, and it’s actually fun!

The graphics are fairly primitive, but don’t detract from the experience.

The songs aren’t the originals, but are well done and sound good on the ‘Cube.

Four or more players + karaoke = REALLY good time.

The game will get old unless you get a second microphone or love karaoke.

]]> Mon, 05 Dec 2005 10:33:00 -0600 The Gaming Horizon Archive http://www.gamebump.com/go/gh_review_animaniacs_the_great_edgar_hunt_ngc http://www.gamebump.com/go/gh_review_animaniacs_the_great_edgar_hunt_ngc http://www.gamebump.com/go/gh_review_animaniacs_the_great_edgar_hunt_ngc# This review was originally published on Gaming Horizon, GameBump's predecessor. Its format does not match our own but we support its content. It was written by Matthew Call.

The Animaniacs have been off the air for several years now, but that didn’t stop Ignition and Warner Brothers from teaming up to bring Yakko, Wakko, and Dot to a new generation. Animaniacs: The Great Edgar Hunt begins with the evil Cyril Coupe Deville stealing the coveted Edgar Awards (the Animaniacs equivalent of the Oscars) and holding them for ransom. Fortunately, he bungles the theft and crashes his blimp into the Warner Bros. tower, unleashing the Animaniac siblings. The game begins with Yakko, who must find his now-lost siblings and the coveted Edgar awards.

Ignition got full rights to use the Animaniacs universe so the game is full of little nods to the cartoon series. Many characters make appearances; besides Yakko, Wakko, and Dot the player also encounters Dr. Scratchandsniff, various incarnations of the nurse, as well as the infamous Pinky and Brain. The game takes place inside the Warner Bros. lot, and the levels are actually sets of various movies that are in production. There’s a classic Wild West film set, a fairy tale land set and others throughout the game that are full of Edgar Awards and other goodies for the player to discover.

The characters in the game are all modeled extremely well and feature an acceptable level of detail. The character animations are smooth, and look like they could have been taken from an episode of the cartoon. The various levels are colorful and contain several different types of enemies, each of which is appropriate for the type of film set that forms the level. The entire game is 3D and uses an engine heavy on cell-shading, which enhances the cartoon atmosphere of the game.

The game also has a few nice touches that make playing it more enjoyable. The same actors that voiced the cartoon character in the 1990s voice the characters in the game, which brings back a lot of nostalgia for all the old-timers out there who remember the show. The gameplay is very simple, which is a plus in a game designed for youngsters. The main joystick controls the movement of the player, while other buttons enable the player to jump, attack with a mallet or frying pan, or activate items like doors which are scattered throughout the levels. Another handy addition is the ability to warp among different areas of the levels, drastically reducing travel time.

Unfortunately, there’s a lot to be said here. For starters, the game drastically needs some kind of a help system to provide direction to the player. Often I was unsure of what to do next after accomplishing an objective and ended up wandering around for up to an hour before figuring out how to move on to the next goal. That’s frustrating, to say the least.

While I mentioned that the character’s animations are well rendered, the remainder of the game’s graphics are sub par. Although the game is in 3D, many of the textures used in seem flat and two-dimensional. The game world, while colorful, is not very detailed and feels very homogenous.

The sound department is also a little on the weak side. I give Ignition kudos for using the actual voiceactors who originally voiced the cartoon series, but the dialogue needs some work. The cutscenes are well done, but during gameplay the characters say the same two lines every time they pick up an apple which leaves the game feeling like a broken record. The Animaniacs theme music is present throughout the game, but the actual theme song with lyrics is strangely absent. Hearing the Animaniacs theme song from the opening of the cartoon show on the main menu would have been a welcome addition.

The gameplay is extremely repetitive. Basically, the player runs around and picks up items, all while trying to get somewhere else to pick up even more items. Along the way the player encounters a slew of enemies who act as an obstacle for the player. These enemies must be “confused” before they can be killed, which often results in the player getting injured before actually dispatching them. Every once and a while the action is broken up by minigames, some of which feature Pinky and the Brain, which is a welcome change from the game’s usual grind.

The camera can also be frustrating. The left trigger button locks the camera in place or allows it to roam free, but its implementation is lackluster. Often the camera will get stuck on an object instead of zooming in to avoid it, which can make executing certain jumps very difficult. At times the camera will get stuck between two objects, making it extremely difficult to see the area around the player.

There are no multiplayer modes, so once the game is complete it’s over. There is no real incentive to go back and play through it again, making the replay value of this title very low.

 Animaniacs: The Great Edgar Hunt is a decent game if you are between the ages of five and ten and enjoy the cartoon series. Older gamers will find it to be far too simplistic and often frustrating since it can be difficult to know what to do or where to go next. The use of the Animaniacs license is refreshing, especially after so many years, but the game needed some more fine-tuning before being released, especially on the camera and integrating a help system. I would recommend this game for young players who are fans of the television show; however there are better children’s games out there that provide more entertainment for your dollar.

Very repetitive and the goals are not clearly established.

Low level of detail, but the bright color pallet does redeem it somewhat.

Actual voiceactors from the TV show reprise their roles and perform well.

Fun, if you can figure out where to go or what to do.

Once you finish it, it’s over. No multiplayer options.

]]> Tue, 25 Oct 2005 21:57:00 -0500 Shiva Stella http://www.gamebump.com/go/gh_review_geist_ngc http://www.gamebump.com/go/gh_review_geist_ngc http://www.gamebump.com/go/gh_review_geist_ngc# This review was originally published on Gaming Horizon, GameBump's predecessor. Its format does not match our own but we support its content.

When it comes to first-person shooter games, arguably few could call them innovative or original; considering the genre, the bulk of FPS titles have players running around a large map either looking for bad guys to shoot, or shooting said bad guys. You may do so on an alien planet, or while traveling through time, or when en route to kill Hitler, or while tracking down terrorists, but no matter the franchise it’s the same premise – run and gun. Shoot to kill. Nintendo and N-Space’s Geist, however, takes on a much more refreshing approach to the FPS genre and supplements the run and gun formula with a novel twist – possession. To mow down enemies, players must first possess a host, assuming control of the host’s faculties and – of course – his weaponry. Love it or hate it, it’s the first breathtaking modification that the genre has undergone in years, and while it’s implemented well, one leaves the game satisfied but a touch disappointed. Expect a sequel.

Geist’s presented plot is simple but soon becomes engaging enough to draw the player in and keep his attention throughout the rest of the game. Players are cast as John Raimi, a specialist who’s teamed up with a government team to infiltrate the headquarters of Volks Corporation, a scientific entity thought to have created a powerful biological or chemical weapon that could deal damage to countries around the world. Typical of government operatives, they stroll into Volks territory completely unaware of what horrible scheme Volks has prepared for every major nation on the globe, and are immediately swept up in the company’s new, otherworldly experiment. Gamers control Raimi and learn the very basics – medical kits restore health, this is how you shoot a gun, this is how you talk to people, et al – as they’re thrown into their first firefight; as the team nears the exit nearly every member is dead, and soon it’s just Raimi knocked to the ground. Volks himself, founder of his company, decides to conduct his ethereal experiment on Raimi to see if he’d make a fine Volks employee, but just as soon as Raimi’s soul is ripped from his body, he is “rescued” by another ghost, Gigi, a small girl who reminds Raimi of his real identity and encourages him to save his friend and escape. Numerous twists and turns abound, such that by the game’s end players have experienced an enjoyable, unusual FPS – something the market desperately needs.

As obvious from the above paragraph, there are really two distinct modes of play – you can float around as a ghost on a possessing binge, or you can grab a reliable body and start gunning. In between the two are strewn light puzzles to test your mental capacities, and bosses your mettle. That said, Geist’s gameplay still focuses the majority of its content on managing Raimi’s ghost capabilities, which are the game’s true highlights. Players start off learning the basics from Gigi, the local spirit mentor. She’ll instruct you on how to keep up your ghost vitality by sucking up plants, as well as how to float around, how to examine the immediate environment, and how to possess. Raimi can possess both living and inanimate objects, and whatever a gamer observes that is “possessable” gains a red sheen. As usual, though, there’s a catch: to grab a living host you’ve got to scare it to death, which means you’ve got to possess whatever objects are around the host and start wreaking spiritual havoc in its direct vicinity. This involves tossing plates, exploding paint cans, reflecting ghastly images, and so forth, which makes it great fun to observe the living’s reaction. To keep it interesting N-Space added animal possession, and it’s a treat to walk around barking at guards or informing a trainer you’re going to kill her. The same prank is never used twice, which keeps the player guessing and enriches the gameplay.

For those who enjoy a challenge but shriek at spending two hours on a puzzle, Geist offers a lighter alternative with its possession and scare tactics, and expands on it with minor dilemmas that are essentially broken down into stages. As you can’t save the game until you die – when you’re finally offered to save from the last stage completed before restarting the level – the stages are effectively split and move the game along at a steady pace. Players use whatever objects are at hand (rat poison, scientists, etc) to progress, which usually involves possessing this or that object to grab a host, and then using the host to access a new area to grab an item that’s required at another crossroads. Geist features an updated list of objectives for stage guidance as well as a convenient 3D map, which you won’t even need. If you’re just exploring in ghost form (because you’re stuck) you can always slide through the tiny cracks in doors and walls to glimpse what’s ahead. If you shudder at the thought of a strict puzzle-FPS, Geist quickly puts aside the concern.

Once you’ve possessed a host, and particularly a human one, the game leans toward its shooting aspects and performs like any other FPS on the market. You utilize the host’s available weaponry (a primary gun and sometimes a secondary option, like a stack of grenades) to kill other guards or creatures. Some hosts are strategically useful for gaining access to secured areas or clearing a pathway to the nearest exit. The first time you shoot at a guard, however, the other enemies know they’ve got a “spirit breach” and that your host is possessed, and turn on him. Hosts die quickly in Geist, so prepare to run, twist, turn, shoot, toss grenades, and switch hosts often. This is quite a cool aspect, because as the player moves between hosts time literally stands still until she’s entered a new corporal body. When the guards have killed off the previous host and imagine that all is finally calm, popping off a few rounds into another guard’s head retriggers the alert status, and the action begins again. There are actually some areas (and boss fights) where this trick is as required as it is handy, but I can think of more boring ways to progress.

Another intriguing aspect of Geist is its inclusion of fun minigames and gameplay asides. You can actually walk the company’s favorite dog, Phantom; help the overworked engineers by pounding out rivets; restore power for the weapons scientists; take a terrified rat for a pleasure stroll around dreaded mousetraps; and so on. By no means do they heavily supplement the gameplay, but they’re interesting nonetheless.

Boss fights, which I have mentioned briefly, mostly involve properly timed possession/attacking and all feature a little trick for success. They’re not easy, and you’ll die several times before you finally figure out a correct killing method, but they’re definitely entertaining and provide the player with a sense of real progress.

In part to compensate for a shorter single-player experience, Geist offers some multiplayer fun in a split-screen option via three modes: deathmatch, capture the host, and hunt. In the former you grab a host and start killing, and the last person standing wins; in capture the host you lead a host to a particular area (with heavy escorts); and in hunt you’re granted a ghost versus human match. The game allows up to four (human) players and four AI controlled characters per mode, and awards the inquisitive gamer with tokens that are instantly redeemed for either multiplayer bonuses or ghost vitality extensions.

Geist’s visuals aren’t state of the art, but they’re adequate for an FPS and provide detailed character models, detailed environments, and some graphical flash for spectral play, casting everything in a dreary blue haze. Lighting effects were handled well when they’re actually used, and come in the form of miscellaneous lights, lamps, and bright patches in the spectral world. Facial models are a tad stuffy and unrealistic, with an almost expressionless feeling to them, but as most of the guards wear masks (don’t ask me why, as breathing in toxic chemicals is the absolute least concern of a Volks employee) it’s an issue in passing. The colorblind cast for certain animals is an interesting treat that enhances the sense of co-inhabiting puppies, but it’s not a real highlight. Most of the environments, though intricate, feature gray walls, flooring, and ceiling, so you won’t find much graphical splendor here. I did particularly enjoy the vivid colors used during the initial training program, but the fun ended there shortly.

As for Geist’s audio it’s effective and enjoyable, cluttered with regular ambient noises – footsteps, gunfire, explosions, monster hisses, the occasional blood-curdling scream – and supported by a decent soundtrack that, while far from extraordinary, works to create a subtle mood that appropriately matches its visual atmosphere. The voicework is nicely done, if not a tad exaggerated for a comedic/creepy effect, and boss themes are especially intense. The musical score is definitely suitable.

Geist’s faults are surprisingly simple and direct, but by no means cripple its gameplay. It’s not an open-ended game; you don’t wander around for hours deciding what you want to do next or searching for clues – you complete it section by section, piece by piece, linearly. This linearity gives players a boundary so they know when they’ve gotten way too far ahead of themselves and what they should be focused on next, but it kills a lot of its spontaneity and freedom.

Regular bad guys have enough AI to stand and shoot at Raimi, but not enough to dodge his bullets as he shoots back; you’ll be lucky if you run across an opponent who bothers to toss some grenades at you, and you’ll be ecstatic when you reach the end and encounter ghost enemies, which are much harder to kill. Boss fights make up for some of this, but honestly it’s time that our shooters got some brains like the rest of our Mature games and gave us some baddies that fight back. What fun is shooting a static guard if he doesn’t even retaliate intelligently?

Some online play, though obviously incapable of operating on the GameCube, would make for an excellent addition to Geist’s Revolution counterpart. Toss in some more multiplayer modes, up the gore, and actually try to frighten players with demons and you’ve got yourself a unique online game.

Though Geist has a nice graphical quality you will encounter some framerate issues, but mostly your graphical qualms will be with the title’s visual dullness. Then again, how visually stimulating can you make a military base/laboratory? Here’s a cement floor, a white ceiling, some gray walls, and some big blue doors for kicks – not exactly Picasso.

If you like your games long you’ll be disappointed in Geist’s 10+ hours of gameplay, especially considering that experienced players and FPS fans (at least those with brains, and I specifically mean the latter) can fly through this game in six-eight hours. A really good player whom possession just falls naturally to can take Geist down in a single sitting, which doesn’t encourage repeat performances. Another regret is that even though there are many objects available for possession, you’re still somewhat limited; a higher offering here would greatly improve the sequel. When a game has a solid, innovative leg to stand on, it should take as much advantage of it as possible, and Geist doesn’t.

The only feature I absolutely loathe is Geist’s game over screen, because you can’t directly restart the level; you’ve got to opt to save your progress up to the last completed stage (read: puzzle) or not before the restart option shows. Here’s an idea: let us save whenever we want, and when we die just automatically reload from our last save, like almost every game on the market. Quit asking me if I want to save whenever I die because if I’m dying, it’s during a boss fight, which means that I haven’t progressed onto the next stage in the last fifteen minutes and hence, you’re just wasting my time – time better spent fighting bosses or possessing parrots.

Geist is quite impressive, as it’s a first-person shooter that involves an interesting theme (possession) and brainpower (puzzles). You won’t find a plethora of intense weaponry or a gripping, daunting plot, but you’ll enjoy the gameplay and be intrigued enough to finish the product. Sadly the game is completed in one-three sittings and features barely 10+ hours of play (I completed my record in eight), which for experienced gamers is a letdown. On the whole, though, it’s a good FPS with a twist that N-Space will hopefully better extend in the inevitable sequel. If you’ve got a GameCube you should definitely pick up Geist and get haunting – it’ll grow on you.

Enjoyable, innovative, and unique, but a touch too short. Possessing is cool.

A slight framerate issue combined with dullness. Get over the gray already!

Not perfect, but suitable. Decent voiceovers. Like the screams. Okay gunfire.

You’ll be drawn in enough to finish it and toy with multiplayer.

How much do you enjoy FPS puzzles, possession, and good boss fights?

]]> Thu, 13 Oct 2005 19:15:00 -0500 The Gaming Horizon Archive http://www.gamebump.com/go/gh_review_battalion_wars_ngc http://www.gamebump.com/go/gh_review_battalion_wars_ngc http://www.gamebump.com/go/gh_review_battalion_wars_ngc# This review was originally published on Gaming Horizon, GameBump's predecessor. Its format does not match our own but we support its content. It was written by Matthew Call.

Battalion Wars is a cross between an action and a strategy game with a style all its own. The game could easily try to be an action or a strategy game without actually succeeding at either, but instead it creates a whole new genre. The game delivers fun gameplay with lots of style and is definitely worth picking up for fans of military action or strategy games.

The premise of the game is a war between the Western Frontier and the Tundran Empire, which resembles the US and the Soviet Union, respectively, and must join forces to fight a new threat, the Xylvanians. The game puts the player into the role of a commander of the Western forces. The commander can issue orders to all the other friendly units in the game, but can also jump into the body of any friendlies on the map. This makes gameplay a balance between strategically commanding troops while also fighting the war in the role of a footsoldier, tank, bazooka trooper, and so on. 

On the surface Battalion Wars delivers on many levels. Visually, the game is impressive. The graphics have a cartoon-style feel to them which fits in well with the theme of the game. Explosions look fantastic and frequently fill the screen and the game never stutters from frame-rate issues.

The sound is equally impressive. The voiceacting is superb, though a bit over-the-top, but that is appropriate given the tone of the game. The music is also over-the-top. Instead of a Saturday morning cartoon theme, the game sports fully orchestrated music that could have been taken straight out of Saving Private Ryan, which adds to the rampant sense of irony.

While the gameplay is essentially the same (ie, roll into an area with your troops and blow everything to kingdom come) the ability to switch between every unit in the game adds a lot of variability. Even when the player is forced to replay the same map for the thousandth time, the action never plays out exactly the same way twice.

The units also complement each other well. All units are strong against some enemies while weak against others. For example, bazooka troopers are weak against infantry but tough against vehicles, while tanks are almost indestructible against infantry but are vulnerable to any kind of missile attack. The variety of weaknesses and strengths requires the player to think about where to move his troops and what group should be on the front lines while others stay towards the rear.

Style is where Battalion Wars really shines. The game requires some serious strategy to complete; however, the troops the player commands are so cute that there is a constant sense of irony throughout the game. What better way to satisfy some pent up bloodlust than leading a pack of machine-gun, rocket launcher, and flamethrower toting cartoon characters into battle? In a day and age where realistic military games are a dime a dozen, it’s refreshing to see a developer with a new take on the military shooter genre.

The game is great, but not perfect. There are a few issues that detract from the overall experience.

The largest issue by far is the lack of multiplayer. This game begs to be played against other human opponents. The strategy and chaotic nature of the game would be even more enjoyable against something besides the game’s AI. There would also be ample opportunities to trash-talk opponents as one player uses artillery to destroy the other from across the map, or as one final ground troop destroys his opponent’s last tank to win the match. The interface would have to be altered somewhat for multiplayer since it would be difficult to see the amount of detail used in the single-player game on a split screen, but with a little modification Battalion Wars would have made a great multiplayer game on the ‘Cube, rivaling even MarioKart or Super Smash Brothers Melee.

Another area that could have used a little fine tuning is the interface. Switching between units is executed by moving the C-Stick, which works fine when everything is calm. During a heated battle, however, it can become difficult to switch to your desired unit, issue an order and then switch back to another unit to issue them an order; all while being attacked from multiple directions. The ability to issue orders to units while the game is paused would have been a welcome addition.

Battalion Wars is a great game that succeeds at what it attempts to do – that is, create a cartoony action-strategy game with a sense of humor. From the orchestrated theme music to the chaos of cartoon battles the game delivers loads of entertainment and even requires some creative thinking to beat the tougher levels. Battalion Wars would be a great game on any console and, given the recent lack of new titles for the ‘Cube, really shines on Nintendo’s console. If you’re a strategy, action, or military game fan looking for something different Battalion Wars delivers in spades.

Great action from cartoon commandos, with welcome strategy elements.

While not overly impressive, the visual style is unique and really adds to the atmosphere.

The weapons all have unique and appropriate sound effects; solid musical score.

Shooting cartoon enemies with another flamethrower wielding cartoon character never gets old.

Lack of multiplayer and only about 10 hours of gameplay, but it’s fun.

]]> Mon, 10 Oct 2005 21:33:00 -0500 The Gaming Horizon Archive http://www.gamebump.com/go/gh_review_mario_superstar_baseball_ngc http://www.gamebump.com/go/gh_review_mario_superstar_baseball_ngc http://www.gamebump.com/go/gh_review_mario_superstar_baseball_ngc# This review was originally published on Gaming Horizon, GameBump's predecessor. Its format does not match our own but we support its content. It was written by Aaron Thomas.

With Mario starring in seemingly every sport out there, it’s no wonder that he hasn’t had the time for a follow-up to Mario Sunshine. His latest foray into sports is in Mario Superstar Baseball from Namco. Much like Mario’s other sports titles, it’s easy to pick up and play, but unlike the previous Mario sports titles, it’s not a great game that will occupy hours of your time. It can be fun for a few hours, or when played against friends, but overall it’s underwhelming in many ways. 

Mario Superstar Baseball has a standard array of gameplay options. You can play a quick game against a friend, or you can take on three buddies in some minigames. These are simple games like homerun derby, and others that involve base running and pitching. They’re fun for a little while, but they’re hindered by the game’s poor controls, which will be discussed later. The meat of the gameplay is in the story mode, where you must defeat teams led by Donkey Kong, Yoshi, Wario, and others – recruit beaten players, and then take on Bowser.

Many people feel that baseball games have gotten too complex, or they feel the games take to long. Anyone who falls into that category will enjoy the simple gameplay mechanics and the short (usually three or five) innings of a full game. Obviously if you’re into stats and realism, this isn’t the game for you, but Mario Baseball makes no pretense of being a realistic baseball experience. The action is viewed from an elevated point of view behind the plate; much like 8-bit games of the olden days. Hitting is done via the A button, and all you’ve got to do is figure out if the pitch is inside or out of the line, move your batter and time your swing properly. Pitching is just as simple, with A throwing the ball, with control being done after the ball is released.

There are over 50 characters from the Mario universe in the game including Mario, Wario, Luigi, Goomba, Koopa, Donkey Kong and more. As they do in Mario Kart, they all have their own unique strengths, animations and personalities - Wario will turn his back and tap his backside a few times to taunt the other team, and Mario will perform his trademark jump after a big win. If anything, there are too many characters, as you’ll be stuck with some of the lesser (pretty much anything from Mario Sunshine) characters for quite a while. It’s also a stretch to see Petey Piranha “standing” at the plate trying to hit a ball with one of his leaves.

The game’s stadiums are a mixed-bag. Along the way you’ll play in a traditional stadium like Mario’s, as well as parks that borrow themes from other Nintendo franchises. The Donkey Kong stadium has a jungle theme, and even a moat that runs along the base paths, while Wario’s stadium is outside his castle, with chain chomps in the outfield. The stadiums become ‘hit or miss’, however, when you consider all the various hazards and quirks they feature. It’s cool at first to see Chain Chomps or Piranha Plants in the outfield, but after getting hosed by them knocking balls away from you, or swatting your hits foul, they get a little frustrating.

The visuals are right on par with all the other Mario-themed games. If you’ve seen Mario Kart, Mario Strikers, or Mario Tennis, you know exactly what to expect from Mario Baseball’s graphics. They are bright and colorful, with lots of personality, but they won’t win any awards from a technical standpoint, as they are hardly pushing the system.

The music is primarily remixed tracks from classic Nintendo themes, which is never a bad thing. It’s virtually impossible to tell the difference between the voice samples in this game and Mario Kart, so if you’ve played that, you know what you’re getting here.

Mario Superstar Baseball’s biggest problem is that it’s just not a whole lot of fun. Everything about the game feels sluggish. It’s a chore to navigate menus, find challenges, run the bases, throw the ball, field, and upgrade your team. The whole concept of impressing players to get them on your team is interesting, but because you don’t get them unless you win, you end up playing games over and over because you couldn’t score runs with your pathetic team. Which leads me to the next problem; a lack of scoring. For an arcade-style game, there is a dearth of scoring. Sure it’s fun to manufacture runs here and there, but that’s not why people are playing Mario Baseball. If it’s possible to go through the first ten games without hitting a homer (like I did), then the balance needs to be adjusted.

A huge problem with Mario Baseball is its poor controls. The biggest issues are running the bases and fielding, but even hitting has its problems. First off, charging your hitter up before the pitch by holding down the A button is incredibly pointless. It seems to do little more than cause fly-outs, and it’s hard to do if you’re playing against someone that pitches quickly. It’s actually not hard in the sense that pushing the A button is difficult, but if you swing and miss, your batter’s animation takes a long time and doesn’t give you ample opportunity to adjust your position at the plate and charge up before the pitch comes. Hitting is also frustrating because you’ll swing through balls that you know that you hit. Even if you have perfect timing and the ball lined up just right, lots of times you’ll just swing and miss. It feels like the developers had to find some way to make people miss the ball every once in a while, so instead of making a greater difference between pitch speeds or making the ball break more, they decided to make the ball go right through the bat. The “special” pitches are another cheap way that the game uses to get you out. For example, Yoshi has a pitch that turns into an egg and bounces on the ground, often ending up two feet away from the plate, but even if you don’t swing at it, the pitch is called a strike. That’s called “cheap” and it’s not fun.

Fielding is a victim of poor camera angles and slow player speeds. As soon as the ball is hit, the camera zooms out, but it does it so quickly that you’ll have trouble following the ball and figuring our what player you are controlling. A sharply hit ball up the middle almost always gets through because you never know if you are going to get the second baseman or the shortstop – robbing you of valuable time to get to the ball. Throws are also weak and sluggish – like something out of R.B.I. Baseball on the NES.

Base running is an absolute mess. The runners are slow, and the radar on screen doesn’t accurately reflect your position on the base paths. Runners that look like they’re just feet from the bag end up being thrown out before they can even get the chance to slide. Your runners all take off on contact, and they are very slow to react to your button presses, which means that any sharply hit ball will result in a runner getting doubled off a base. You can turn on auto-base running, but when you’re issued a challenge to steal a base, the computer won’t do it, so you’re kind of out of luck there.

The only bad thing about the audio is the horrible, horrible sound of the umpire shrieking “STRIKE!” after every strike. It’s nothing short of unbearable.

It’s really hard to pinpoint exactly what Mario Superstar Baseball is missing. It has all the characters and play modes you’d expect from a Mario sports title, but the bottom line is that it’s just not that much fun to play. The action on the diamond is rather boring, and there’s a frustration factor that you don’t often have to deal with when playing one of these arcade-style sports games. It’s worth a look as a rental, as you can certainly have a good time with the game over the course of a weekend, but its flaws keep it from being worthy of a purchase.

It’s okay, but it’s nothing great. Underwhelming.

Nintendo’s getting plenty of mileage out of these character models.

Nintendo’s getting plenty of mileage out of these sound clips.

It’s fun for awhile, but it’s frustrating and lacks depth.

If you can squeeze more than a weekend out of it you're special.

]]> Fri, 07 Oct 2005 16:22:00 -0500 The Gaming Horizon Archive http://www.gamebump.com/go/gh_review_sonic_gems_collection_ngc http://www.gamebump.com/go/gh_review_sonic_gems_collection_ngc http://www.gamebump.com/go/gh_review_sonic_gems_collection_ngc# This review was originally published on Gaming Horizon, GameBump's predecessor. Its format does not match our own but we support its content. It was written by Eric Dayday.

Companies love making money off some of their classic titles by releasing them in compilations. We’ve seen Namco’s numerous arcade classics and Capcom’s Mega Man Anniversary Collection. Sega has been banking on their mascot, Sonic the Hedgehog, and have done so twice already with Sonic Mega Collection and Sonic Mega Collection Plus. Those two games covered the entire Genesis library, and now Sega has treated us to some of the more rare and obscure titles in Sonic Gems Collection.

Gems Collection offers up nine different titles from the Sonic franchise – Sonic CD, Sonic R, the first US release of Sonic the Fighters, as well as the six Game Gear Sonic games. It’s definitely quite a number of games, but unfortunately, some of them just aren’t worth playing.

Sonic CD is regarded by most fans as one of the best in the series. Originally released for the Sega CD and the PC, it contains the same solid speedy side-scrolling action as the classic games with the added twist of time travel. Each stage has a past and future version and things you do in the past version, such as breaking walls and platforms, will affect the stage layout of the future version. This simple mechanic essentially doubles the size of the levels and thus the game itself. It’s rather fun to just take your time and see what exactly you can fiddle with and how it changes the future version. Also, since this is one of the games in this collection that was originally made for the CD format, the audio tracks sound clearer and crisper than most of the others in the collection.

Sonic the Fighters sees its first official US release here in Gems Collection. It’s not the deepest or the prettiest fighting game, but it’s nice to see it added here. Fighters is basically a dumbed-down version of Virtua Fighter 2, which makes sense since both originally ran on Sega’s Model 2 arcade hardware.

Sonic R is a racing game, but not with karts – competitors race on their feet. This makes a lot of sense for Sonic and Knuckles, but not so much for everyone else. That aside, if you can suspend that logic for a second, Sonic R is pretty fun due to its course designs. Most of them are designed after classic 2D Sonic stages and feature a bevy of shortcuts and alternate routes. It’s actually a pretty good idea to scope out the course in time attack mode to familiarize yourself to the main course and its shortcuts so that you can gain an advantage on the AI.

Out of the Game Gear games, Tails’ Skypatrol is the most interesting. It plays more like a puzzle game than an action one. You’ll control a flying Tails in forced forward movement stages. Armed with a ring that can be used as a weapon as well as for activating switches and such, it’s up to you to navigate Tails from start to finish.

Lastly, Vectorman and Vectorman 2 are waiting to be unlocked. The first Vectorman was an underrated action title in the waning days of the 16-bit era and is a welcome addition to the collection. Its sequel isn’t as solid and polished as its predecessor, but it is still nice to have.

While those games are fun for a while, some do have their downsides, and the other Game Gear games just aren’t fun.

Sonic CD, Tails’ Skypatrol, and Vectorman are actually quite fun and will hold your attention for more than half an hour. The same can’t be said for the rest of the collection.

Sonic the Fighters will get boring after your first fight or so. There are only eight selectable characters and half of them are only known to the most hardcore fans of the franchise. And though each character has a decent movelist, the dated and choppy gameplay will leave gamers unsatisfied.

Sonic R is fun the first time through, but after you’ve finished a couple of laps, you will have seen all you really need to see. The Grand Prix just isn’t enough to sustain any amount of interest.

The rest of the Game Gear games include Sonic the Hedgehog 2, Sonic the Hedgehog Triple Trouble, Tails Adventures, Sonic Drift 2, and Sonic Spinball. Sonic 2 and Triple Trouble are your standard side-scrolling titles; Tails Adventures is a side-scrolling featuring just Tails who can throw bombs and fly for short amounts of time; Sonic Drift 2 is a go-kart racer; and Sonic Spinball is a pinball game. The major shortcoming these games all have in common is bad emulation. The frame rate suffers greatly in every game with frequent slowdowns even when there isn’t much on-screen. Also, the audio quality is horrendous. I realize the audio was originally intended to be blasted out of the Game Gear’s miniscule speakers, but the horrible audio fidelity will have your ears bleeding.

Sonic 2 and Triple Trouble are passable gameplay-wise, but Sonic CD is where you’ll want to stay. Tails Adventures is just mind-numbingly boring. Tails walks slow as molasses and he throws bombs? The idea of him throwing bombs just seems way out there. Sonic Drift 2 is atrocious. Think of it as F1 Race with muddy textures and a horizon so-low that it makes anticipating turns impossible, and you have Sonic Drift 2. And then, we have Sonic Spinball. If you’ve played another pinball game with an action theme, then you’ve played Spinball, and the one you played is probably better.

Finally, I don’t mind having the Vectorman games as unlockable extras. However, I would have enjoyed the unlockables a lot more if they had left the Streets of Rage trilogy in there. Japanese gamers got it in their Gems Collection, and word is that Sega of America took it out to get the “E” rating, rather than the “T” rating had they included Streets of Rage.

For $29.99, you sure aren’t getting a lot. Is plunking down $30 for the 12-year-old original Sonic CD, maybe Tails’ Skypatrol, and then having a bunch of useless extra baggage thrown in, really worth it? In my opinion it’s not. While Sonic CD and Tails’ Skypatrol are fun, the others get boring after a few rounds, and the Game Gear emulations are horribly done, which doesn’t translates well when playing on a larger screen. If you have Sonic fever and the only prescription is Sonic Gems Collection, then I suggest you hold out and wait until it drops in price. Even then, I don’t know how much you’ll get out of this collection.

If you love classic side-scrolling Sonic games, some of these games will satisfy you.

Sonic CD and Sonic R aren’t too bad, but the Game Gear games look ugly. Framerate drops often.

Sonic CD’s soundtrack is nice; R’s is weird. The Game Gear games' audio quality drops the score

Some of the games are fun, and some are fun, even if only the first time around.

Vectorman games to unlock for a total of 12 games, but some of them aren’t worth the time.

]]> Fri, 09 Sep 2005 18:31:00 -0500 Aaron Dunlap http://www.gamebump.com/go/gh_review_charlie_and_the_chocolate_factory_ngc http://www.gamebump.com/go/gh_review_charlie_and_the_chocolate_factory_ngc http://www.gamebump.com/go/gh_review_charlie_and_the_chocolate_factory_ngc# This review was originally published on Gaming Horizon, GameBump's predecessor. Its format does not match our own but we support its content.

Running around and getting stuck on things isn’t my kind of game.

Some pretty environments, but all are claustrophobic and the graphics suffer from jaggies.

A great score and better-than-average voiceovers. But come on! No Oompa Loompa songs?

Turning the game off was pretty fun, and some of the cutscenes were nice to watch.

I didn’t want to keep playing after my first drink break.

]]> Thu, 04 Aug 2005 01:31:00 -0500 The Gaming Horizon Archive http://www.gamebump.com/go/gh_review_resident_evil_4_ngc http://www.gamebump.com/go/gh_review_resident_evil_4_ngc http://www.gamebump.com/go/gh_review_resident_evil_4_ngc# This review was originally published on Gaming Horizon, GameBump's predecessor. Its format does not match our own but we support its content. It was written by Chuck Landry.

Leon from the Raccoon City PD is back. He’s in Spain working for the U.S. government, and his mission is to recover the President’s kidnapped daughter. Simple enough, right? Starting in a remote village, Leon will tumble down a path of mystery regarding the location of the daughter, the reason the villagers won’t stop throwing hatchets at him, and why he keeps running into some people from his past.

I don’t care if you don’t like Resident Evil games. If you like any action games, anything other than Barbie Super Shopper or the Mary Kate and Ashley games, then you need to play Resident Evil 4. It truly is a whole new gaming experience, and while it retains some familiar staples from the series, everything is updated to maintain and sometimes surpass today’s standards. For instance, while you’ll still be saving your game at typewriters, you will never need a single ink ribbon. But to get you ready for what kind of game you’re going to be getting yourself into, how’s this for an opening level:

I was dropped off outside of an old home by some Spanish policia to start my investigation. I walk inside to ask the resident if he has any information on the President’s daughter, and his response is to try to chop my arm off at the shoulder with an axe. Luckily (for me more than for him) I put him down with a couple of shots to the nose. My guides speed off in the van, wreck, and now there are three other angry villagers waiting for me outside. I pick them off from an upstairs window rather than face them. At the main village, I see one of my former travel companions burning on a stake, and am quickly noticed by a female villager. She alerts the rest of the town and tries to give me an extreme close-up of her shiny pitchfork. Angry villagers with hatchets, axes, pitchforks, and torches are running – not walking – at me from every direction. I hold my ground as long as I can, swinging in every direction and aiming for their heads.

It quickly becomes apparent that there are too many of them, so I run into a house. I notice that I can push bookcases in front of the windows, and I do so. The villagers are banging from outside. I run upstairs to employ my "shoot them from the safety of the window" tactic, and notice someone climbing in from a wooden ladder. I knock him outside with a shot to the chest, and push the ladder away from the house. I shoot who I can while they scramble to put the ladder back up, push it back down, and repeat. My surround sound eventually alerts me that it’s time to turn around, and when I do I see six villagers in the room with me, coming in through another window, and from downstairs (they apparently broke the bookcases). Before I can catch my breath from my scream, the nearest one raises a chainsaw above his head, and separates my mind from body…literally. I wipe the sweat off my hands and try again.

I played Resident Evil 4 with my roommate and neighbor watching. I can’t even begin to tell you how many times we screamed that first night. There is a different kind of fear oozing out of RE4 than the previous games. There aren’t many instances where dogs come crashing through a window, for instance. But we screamed more often when we knew what was coming, we just didn’t anticipate how quickly, how many, or from how many directions. The first enemy you meet is the standard villager, and while they don’t always run, they are smarter than your average zombie. As described above, they will put ladders up against buildings to get at you. They will throw their hatchets at you from rooftops. They will blow fire at you with their torches. They will set traps for you, including dynamite trip wires and bear traps. And as I learned through a very painful lesson, they will throw fire at you if you climb the tower in the middle of town.

Let’s talk about some of the major changes veterans of the series will notice. First and foremost, the entire world is 3D – not just characters walking on a pre-rendered backdrop. The game plays in a third person perspective, as always, except the camera now floats directly behind Leon’s shoulder, rather than being fixed in a corner somewhere. Rather than targeting either straight, up, or down as in the past, you now directly control each of Leon’s shots, aiming made possible by laser sights mounted on each of his weapons. What this does, overall, is make the game play much more like a first-person shooter than a third-person action game.

The controls are pretty standard for the RE universe. You still walk using the stick, and turning is no better than before. Holding the B button allows you to run, holding R zooms the camera closer to Leon’s shoulder and lets you aim. Holding L instead pulls out Leon’s knife. The A button is used to attack and also for several context-sensitive actions. These range from basic actions such as picking up items or opening doors, to some new techniques including diving through windows, jumping over gaps, or kicking enemies at just the right time. In fact, several points in the game require you to react very quickly to icons that pop up on screen, indicating what to press (think Shenmue). Someone might try to stab Leon, and you’ll have about one second to press whatever button appears on screen if you want to dodge. This happens a lot, and forces you to constantly pay attention, even during cutscenes or else have to try again. Don’t think you can memorize the button, either, as it randomly changes each time. There’s even almost an entire boss fight that takes place within a cutscene filled with these events, which works very well – an interesting challenge that puts your reaction time to the test.

There are also changes in the way inventory is handled. Gone are the storage boxes and (at last) the need to constantly exchange your items for an ink ribbon every time you want to save. In Resident Evil 4, Leon can only hold a certain amount. If it doesn’t fit, it’ll have to be discarded or sold. Items can be bought and sold via some seriously shady merchants who turn up in the most random of places for running a business. Here’s where you’ll purchase most of your weapons, as well as some first-aid spray if you need it. As you have limited space, you can choose to either spend your pesetas (apparently this village hasn’t yet adopted the Euro along with the rest of the country) on new weapons or to purchase upgrades to the ones you already have. You will pick up cash from fallen enemies, in wooden crates, or inside dressers. You’ll also come across a few trinkets that have no value to you, but can be sold to the merchant. Luckily, because enemies randomly drop items, you’ll hardly ever have to worry about your ammunition, which is a completely different approach for the RE series, but a very good new direction. It’s much more exciting to have to fight off hordes of enemies rather than be worried about how you’re going to finish off a couple with 4 shots. Among all of the first-aid spray, ammunition, grenades (frag, incendiary, and flash), weapon upgrades, etc. it’s a good thing the merchant also sells larger bags in which to hold your inventory. Rather than listing your items and weapons on a scroll list as before, now inventory shows up in an actual layout, similar to games like Chrome or Deus Ex. Everything takes up a certain geometrical area in your case, and sometimes you’ll have to rearrange your items to make them fit tighter so you can take that one extra grenade.

All in all, this game is the most action oriented one yet. You’ll never have to remember which door a new key goes to, as it’s almost always one in the same room you are in, or one you are just about to encounter. Like a gift from heaven, there is virtually no backtracking at all in RE4. The object is to keep moving forward – not to remember where it was that you saw a particular hexagonal-shaped slot on a door. This alone puts the whole experience light years ahead of the earlier games.

As should be no surprise with an action-oriented game, combat is a major part of the gameplay. And this part is why I’m so sure no future Resident Evil game will ever go back to the way of the older ones. Combat in RE4 is absolutely, positively the best part of the game. While Leon can’t walk and shoot simultaneously, this is the only drawback on the gunplay. Once you take a few minutes to get used to the view, firing your weapons with pinpoint accuracy is pretty natural, although you’ll never be as precise as you would were this game truly in first-person. Leon’s laser sights prove indispensable, allowing you to choose whether to try to take an enemy out with a headshot, go for the easy torso hit, or simply slow them down by putting a round into the leg of your choice. Sure, many games have location based damage – meaning a shot in the head causes more damage than a shot in the toe, but RE4 makes it all very satisfying because of the way the enemies react based on where you hit them. A running enemy will literally trip and tumble if you hit it in the leg. A shot to a villager’s face will cause them to spin around, grabbing at their face with their hands, until they can see again. A shot in the arm will make them drop their weapon. You can really use this strategically at some points, as a well-placed bullet can send enemies off of ledges, or cause them to burn themselves with their own torches. See an enemy holding dynamite? Try shooting the dynamite.

Of course, it’s not just the animation that makes the fighting so damn entertaining in RE4. Let’s not forget the weapons, which include several types of pistols, shotguns, grenades, and sniper rifles, to name a few. When using a rifle equipped with a scope, you can zoom in with a first-person view for some very exact hits. There’s also a rocket launcher, which can kill absolutely any enemy in a single blast (it’s expensive and large though) and a mine thrower, which is essentially a sniper rifle that launches timed, explosive darts.

And don’t worry – the enemies get a bit more sophisticated than pitchfork-wielding villagers. Just when you think you can handle them, you’ll face monks armed with maces crouched behind wooden riot shields. You can either aim for the teeny-tiny parts of them that are exposed (such as a pinky toe) or destroy their shields. A shotgun will tear the entire shield apart, while pistols and machine guns will break small parts of the shield into splinted holes, piece by piece. You’ll encounter monks armed with crossbows, a few blind gladiators with Wolverine-style claws, fully armored knights, mutant flies straight out of Star Wars, and giant ogres. There are of course some seriously demented boss fights, but I’ll let you discover those for yourself.

The game is so much fun that it could stand on its gameplay merits alone. Fortunately, the presentation is impressive as well. The graphics are so good, I often find myself forgetting that I’ve been playing my GameCube all week – not my Xbox. The environments, from the wooded village to sewers and castles are all intricately detailed, and you’ll never notice repeated textures. Animation as I said earlier is some of the best I’ve ever seen, and weather effects, such as rain, fog, and lightning are handled very well by Nintendo’s little console. Sound effects are also near perfect, although my roommate did get sick of hearing "Alli esta!" and some of the other phrases the villagers shout out. Surround sound is not only amazing, but also often a lifesaver.

It took me almost 25 hours to get through Resident Evil 4, but I immediately started again form the beginning because the gameplay is just that good. Once you beat it, some new weapons are available to you from the merchant, as well as some extra mission types and minigames. And of course, you can unlock special costumes.

Well the game ended, for one thing. I was kind of hoping it would just continue on, indefinitely. Any downsides to this game are forgivable because of how entertaining it is to play, but it does have its faults.

For one thing, there’s been lots of hype surrounding this game in the form of a claim that "these are not zombies" – appealing to the way the enemies react more intelligently. Still, at the risk of a very minor spoiler (skip to the next paragraph if you don’t want to know anything about the story) a very familiar corporation is still involved, as always, and while they might not technically be zombies, there is a virus in these people that causes them to mutate. Don’t expect to be fighting humans for long. Although the villagers can and do run at you, later enemies often do just walk, moan, and stagger towards you, much like the zombies of earlier Resident Evil games.

Although I do approve of a limited inventory system and more importantly the exclusion of storage boxes, I still hate the geometrical space approach to managing items. Rather than make me physically move, rotate, and shift items to make things fit efficiently, why not just give me a total number, say ‘50,’ and assign a number to each item. A grenade could be assigned a ‘2,’ a rocket launcher ’12,’ etc. Then just let me hold as much as I want until my items total ’50.’ If something will physically fit into my box with some shifting around, why make players actually move stuff around? Let the game do it for us because it takes a lot of time and is very annoying.

Lastly, the dialogue is still very obviously translated from Japanese, which sometimes makes it sound awkward. The dialogue between Leon and his government contact via radio is often pointless, weird, or just doesn’t make logical sense. Why Leon doesn’t call for backup until the last part of the game seems ridiculous, as does the fact that after the opening of the game I described above, Leon never tells his contact just how strange everything is.

Resident Evil games will never go back to the old format. There’s simply no way Capcom would ever make us suffer through that after a taste of this game. Everything – absolutely everything - works better in this game than in any RE title before. The end result is a game that is a total blast to play through. If you’ve been burned by the dated RE formula in the past, I’d tell you that you owe it to yourself to rent it… but then you’d be irate because you wasted six bucks only to spend another $50 so you can own it. Resident Evil 4 is a masterpiece; the entire survival horror genre has just been redefined.

I don’t care that Leon still pivots when you turn him. There’s no back tracking. Boss fights are varied and inventive. You can aim exactly where you need to. Everything mixes together beautifully.

Easily the best graphics on the system. Textures are detailed, and the animation is incredible.

This might be your excuse to get surround sound. You will hear some of the same phrases from the enemies, however.

Action-packed, thrilling, surprising combat will not let you go more than an hour without doing something new and thinking, “Cool, I didn’t realize I could do that.”

It’s definitely fun enough to play again. I for one just want to watch other people play the beginning who haven’t seen it yet. Plus you get some extra features when you beat it.

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