It’s difficult to tell if Aqua Teen Hunger Force Zombie Ninja Pro-Am is trying to be a terrible game or just is one. I guess it doesn’t really matter because you should likely avoid this title at all costs.

Just like the television series and movie that subsequently followed, Zombie Ninja Pro-Am meanders around without much of a purpose. In fact, the designer’s goal isn’t focused at all on the game clearly; instead it’s more about screwing with the player's head. I guess that's to be expected with Aqua Teen.

From here, you’re put into one of three games. There is a golf portion which is fully simplistic: all you do is turn and push X to time the power and accuracy of the swing. This is entirely completed with the X button.

Following your hit, you’ll enter the second portion of the game where you’re forced to slowly run down the course. This part is essentially a beat em' up as you’ll meet numerous characters from the show and other such things you have to kill before being able to hit the ball again. You carry a variety of items to kill enemies with including your club, a sword, guitar, spray and more. On the way, you can also pick up various power-ups that can be utilized in the golfing and racing portions of the game.

Once in awhile, you’ll enter the third aspect of the game which is three races with golf carts against the alien frat boys. This like every other aspect of the game: it's extremely simple as there are missiles and turbo available throughout.

The combination of all this is a terrible game through and through. The graphics are horrifying with ghastly frame rates and repetitive enemies they throw at you. The controls as mentioned are very simplistic and the gameplay is short. There are just 12 levels in the game and it shouldn’t take you more than a handful of hours to complete the experience if you are really willing to put yourself through it.

About the only thing worthy in this game is the voice acting which is spot on; the characters from the show are in here including the Cybernetic Ghost of Christmas Past. He is joined by the Commentator Guy, ESPN’s Scott Van Pelt. Overall I’ve got to say that the dialogue can be humorous at times.

The only other benefit in the game particularly for fans of the series is the 12 minutes of cameo clips of characters and the four full episodes, including one that has never been aired.

In the end, Aqua Teen Hunger Force Zombie Ninja Pro-Am appears to be more an attempt by the designers to play a prank on those foolish enough to buy the game by giving them a lesson in tedium. Pure and simple, this game has absolutely no benefit unless you enjoy torturing yourself.

World War II games come and go, but Eidos Interactive has decided to go into a new direction with their latest work, Battlestations: Midway. The game combines strategy and action to fulfill fans of both genres. In the game, players go through a variety of battles across the Pacific Theater from Pearl Harbor to the Battle of Midway. The question is: does Eidos pull off the unique World War II title or is it just another has-been?

Battlestations: Midway is unique in that it allows you to play in a variety of fighting styles through the same broader storyline. In the game, players are given the opportunity to command submarines, fighter planes, dive bombers, aircraft carriers, cruisers, battleships, destroyers and more. The full variety featured in the game along with the ability to switch between various vehicles on the fly makes Midway an interesting play.

Overall the game features 60 vehicles to man and all of them are very different and, most importantly, feel differently. One nice touch is that the developers nailed the controls; whether steering planes, boats or submarines, all are very different. For example, the PT boats and destroyers are fast and move well in the water, while carriers are difficult to turn and slow. The controls for the action are terrific and just as good as you’d find in a straight World War II flying game.

That’s only half of what the game features though as there is a full strategy element in Battlestations too and this is where the game goes one step further. Players have to make decisions and command waves of forces on the fly and this creates a strategy to the entire experience. You’ll take control of a tactical map where you’ll direct ships and planes into and out of battle. Strategy goes beyond just telling forces what to do though as there’s a full micromanagement option in the game where you’ll have to delve into controlling weapons, damage and more. This game goes beyond just straight action and simple strategy which for some is a good thing while others it may be a downside. The nice aspect of this is that the game gives you free reign to control everything that happens on-screen.

With all the strategy and vehicles at hand, thankfully Midway features a solid tutorial to walk you through every aspect of the vehicles and weaponry at your disposal. That was important to include as the controls for each vehicle takes some getting used to, but after taking on various plane, ship and sub challenges you should quickly become a pro. It goes one step further though as the tutorials will delve deeper by teaching players how to attack specific enemies and direct squads.

If that’s not enough, Battlestations Midway features a full online mode too. There’s a wide variety of maps available. Most feature a combination of planes and ships, although some are focused specifically on certain vehicles. Although bare bones, online is pretty engaging and allows up to eight players to go at it at once.

While Midway has some solid merits, the game features major issues too. One such problem is the dialogue and voice-acting in the game. The single-player storyline is poorly executed and more often than not the voice-acting doesn’t sync up with the action on-screen. In fact, I felt the voice-acting didn’t really even match up well with the characters in the storyline. Even worse than that is the constant repetition from players in battles. 

I can say that the sound isn’t all bad though. The score is relatively good and features a fair amount of drama that varies depending on whether you’re fighting as the Japanese or Americans. The sound effects are also decent and feature explosions, gun fire, engine sounds and more. All of these make the battle experience a little bit more memorable. Despite those nice facts, the voice-acting really hurts the sound in this game.

On top of that, the graphics aren’t the most desirable. There is a nice amount of detail including men walking around on decks of ships, but the game doesn’t utilize the Xbox 360’s power. Sometimes the water, sun and sky look amazing, but others it is far from it and the textures are lifeless. Thankfully, the cutscenes at least look good and there is no slowdown whatsoever.

Battlestations Midway does some good things, most notably combining solid World War II action with full real-time strategy. This combination is interesting and unique, although it still doesn’t get you to overlook the mediocre graphics and sound which are simply sub par. Nevertheless, if you’re a war fan or love strategy titles, Battlestations Midway is definitely worth a spin. The only problem is that it’s more than likely going to be a hit only for hardcore gamers.

The controls are complicated, but functional. The game combines strategy and action well.

There is some nice lighting effects and detail, but the graphics are sub par.

The voice-acting is poor, but the sound effects and score are solid.

The game is fun, but at times isn’t the most engaging.

The single-player experience is solid, but online will keep you interested for awhile.

]]> Tue, 06 Mar 2007 17:57:00 -0600 Tim Grube http://www.gamebump.com/go/midway_arcade_treasures_comes_to_pc http://www.gamebump.com/go/midway_arcade_treasures_comes_to_pc http://www.gamebump.com/go/midway_arcade_treasures_comes_to_pc# This article was originally published on Gaming Horizon, GameBump's predecessor. Certain formatting, imaged, and embedded content may have been lost in the transition process.

Midway Games today announced Midway Arcade Treasures: Deluxe Edition will be coming to the PC and is slated to ship to stores on February 6, 2006 for the suggested budget price of $19.99.

]]> Fri, 20 Jan 2006 14:19:00 -0600 Tim Grube http://www.gamebump.com/go/arcade_treasures_extended_play_ships_for_psp http://www.gamebump.com/go/arcade_treasures_extended_play_ships_for_psp http://www.gamebump.com/go/arcade_treasures_extended_play_ships_for_psp# This article was originally published on Gaming Horizon, GameBump's predecessor. Certain formatting, imaged, and embedded content may have been lost in the transition process.

"Midway Arcade Treasures: Extended Play is the perfect portable title, with 21 classic arcade games guaranteed to provide a quick diversion or an extended gameplay experience," said Steve Allison, chief marketing officer, Midway. "With the holiday season upon us Midway Arcade Treasures: Extended Play is a must-have stocking stuffer this year."

21 Classic Arcade Games Including: Mutiplayer Wireless: Joust Marble Madness Toobin’ Wizard of Wor Xybots Arch Rivals Championship Sprint Cyberball 2072 Mortal Kombat Mortal Kombat II Mortal Kombat 3 Rampage (3-player) Rampart (3-player) Xenophobe (3-player) Gauntlet (4-player) Single Player Spy Hunter Sinistar Defender Paperboy 720º ]]> Mon, 12 Dec 2005 13:09:00 -0600 The Gaming Horizon Archive http://www.gamebump.com/go/gh_review_midway_arcade_treasures_3_ps2 http://www.gamebump.com/go/gh_review_midway_arcade_treasures_3_ps2 http://www.gamebump.com/go/gh_review_midway_arcade_treasures_3_ps2# 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 Brian Mohr.

Midway Arcade Treasures 3 diverges from the themes of original compilation games the company went for in the first two releases of the series by instead focusing this title on their racing genre. This decision could be looked at as either a positive or a negative depending on if you like racing games, but in the end it doesn’t matter because the collection falls short.

The focused effort of racing games is a decent idea for gamers because it does give them one specific genre in a full collection. The games included in the series are decent as well. They include Hydro Thunder, Rush 2049, Rush: The Rock, Off-Road Thunder, Badlands, Race Drivin’, S.T.U.N. Runner and Super Off-Road with the extra Track Pak.

Despite being a small collection, it’s a nice compilation of racing games. Personally my favorites in the set are Hydro Thunder, Super Off-Road and the Rush games. Hydro and Rush are the Dreamcast ports and considering that these games are only six or seven years old, they still look very good and move at a quick pace just like the arcade racers. Being that Rush is a former Dreamcast title, it also does thankfully keep the other modes of play including stunt mode, ghost mode and battle mode. The Rock is the sequel to 2049 and feels a little faster, and still keeps the wonderful experience going. It sadly doesn’t feature any of the multiplayer modes though.

Super Off-Road is a nice trip down memory lane, where I recall shelling out quarter after quarter to play the game. It includes jumps, hills and various track configurations as you battle for prize money to improve your vehicle. The Track Pak adds more tracks to the series as well as a new option - the dune buggy.

Other games in the collection are more a miss including Badlands, a Super Off-Road knockoff that is set after a nuclear disaster. S.T.U.N. Runner puts players in a futuristic racer, but sadly the gameplay and graphics are obviously lacking. Off-Road Thunder is the truck driving relative of Hydro Thunder. Although it’s not nearly as fun, it does include some nice options including demolition mode, rally mode and snap the flag. Finally, there is the unique driving title Race Drivin’, a stunt driving simulator that doesn’t give you the feel you used to have in the full arcade standup.

Overall most of the games including the good ones in the collection lack where it counts - that is the fact that they don’t have the equipment we’d play with in the arcade. Holding a controller at home is not the same as sitting down at the arcade and experiencing the game first-hand, this is especially a problem with Race Drivin’ as the experience on a console is just boring and tedious while the actual arcade was much more interesting and fun. I have to say I still do like the replays in Race Drivin’ though, but overall, none of these games quite gets us back to what we used to play when it was a full arcade standup racer you’d sit in. Along with that issue is that the actual stick you’d play with in a game like Super Off-Road isn’t the same as using the analog which makes it too easy and essentially pointless to play. When I was younger it was challenging making turns all the time, but with the analog stick it’s too easy.

Beyond those problems, we can gripe about a couple other things including the lack of content in this collection and no option to change the controls. Treasures 3 includes eight games which is a meager amount considering you’re still spending $20 on the set. The previous collections included over 20 games for the same amount. The other problem is that the controls are set for each game, so if you don’t like how they’re set up, you’re stuck with them. Midway gives players no option to switch them to what they’d prefer.

Finally, the last issue in the game is that Midway has to do something with the menus. They are boring with just a list of playable games and a graphic of an arcade machine. I mean come on Midway, put a little more work into it. If that’s not sad enough, the extra content included is credits and a commercial for Ed, Edd and Eddy. What kind of extras are those?

Midway Arcade Treasures 3 takes us back to our youth with some of the more notable racing games of our generation. Sadly the collection lacks in many aspects including how many games are actually on the compilation, the menus and just the actual game experience. Racing games in particular are hard to keep fresh and this series proves that they do fall off with time.

Some games are good including the Rush series and Hydro Thunder while others are bad.

These games still look like they used to. Of course the more modern games transfer over better.

The audio is just like what you’d hear in the arcade no better or worse.

The game is fun as you’ll remember. Hydro Thunder, Super Off-Road and the Rush's are still fun.

You’ll enjoy driving around Treasures 3 for a few laps, but over time it'll sit on your shelf.

]]> Mon, 10 Oct 2005 22:03:00 -0500