Rate the game!
 

I thought I could bring this thread back since I really enjoyed it on the other boards.
The first game to be reviewed in here is

Prince of Persia: Warrior Within (GC)

Graphics: The graphics are excellent in this game. "Sands" looked great, this one looks even better. Especially the animation of the prince is just incredibly good. My only beef with the graphics is, just like in the first one, the facial motion in the cut scenes. The lip synching is pathetic.
9/10

Sound: This is one of the controversial points of the game. It was critized that the Prince's voice actor was changed and that the Metal music was just out of place. I thought the voice acting was done ok (although they should have kept the Prince's voice actor, or at least his accent) in this game. Not near as good as in "Sands of Time" though. The music is actually not that bad. It's just that it gets boring and repetitive soon and it feels forced. There also are a couple of really annoying glitches with the sound effects (which are apart from that very good).
7/10

Gameplay: The controls of the platforming parts are exactly the same as in "Sands of Time". Which is a good thing. The combat was improved a lot. While it was pretty dull in the last game, it really feels dynamic in "Warrior Within" and is a lot of fun. Unfortunately there is a lot of boring backtracking in this game. It gets annoying, especially if you have to return to places you already loathed the first time.
About the game's difficulty, I played it on "Normal" and it was a lot more challenging than "Sands" but also never ever unfair.
9/10

Lasting Appeal: I think it took me about 20 hours to beat it so it's about double as long as "Sands". It also has two different endings and a couple of other hidden stuff.
8.5/10

Story and Presentation: The story is a complete mess. There was more than one time I just sat there and thought "...uum, right.". The weird thing is, it's kinda interesting anyway. The new style... well, I thought some reviewers were just being picky but they were totally right. "Warrior" has nothing of the wonderful fairy tale atmosphere of its predecessor, everything feels very, very forced. One of my favourite things about "Sands of Time" was that the Prince was actually telling a story to the audience. You won't find something like that in this game.
6.5/10

Overall: "Warrior Within" improves on the flaws of "Sands". it's longer and the combat is way better. The sad thing is that it also destroys a lot of the things that made "Sands of Time" so great. Don't get me wrong, it's a great game nevertheless but it also shows that gameplay is not the only thing about a game. I can honestly say that I appreciate "Sands of Time" even more after I have played through "Warrior Within".
8.5/10

It's good to have this thread back, I liked it as well.

Good review too.

Nice review of PoP:WW Barkworm. I still haven't gotten together enough funds to buy it, but I will soon.

I'm bored, so I'll review Super Mario 64 DS for the Nintendo DS! :D

Graphics: I was totally blow away with the graphics for this game. Totally. I didn't expect it to look as good as it does. I love the updated character models, Bowser especially was the biggest surprise. Everything else seems to be a little better than the 64 version. Textures are sometimes blurry, but most of the time still better than SM64. The character models in SM64 didn't really stand the test of time, looking back on them now is kinda gruesome, so seeing the game looking this good was a real treat.
Overall: 9.0

Sound: Very little difference. Mostly everything is exactly the same as it was on the 64 version. The differences of course being character voice samples. Everything sounds as it should, not much of a change, which is a good thing.
Overall: 8.5

Gameplay: It's as good as it ever was. The addition of some 3 new characters into the fold is great, even though I wish they had kept Wario out of the game. They don't control super differently, but it's easy to notice things like jumping distance and speed. Yoshi is the only one who controls much different from the others, his ability to swallow and make eggs out of enemies is great. The new additions to the game, such as the various added boss fights are awesome, although I would have liked to see a completely new world or two thrown in somewhere, rather than just little mini levels. The extra stars rarely stray form the "collect the silver stars" or "push the secret switch" types, but you can't go wrong with more stars! The controls are tough to get use to at first, and even once you've mastered them you'll find yourself loosing control at times and going somewhere you don't want to, usually off a ledge and into the abyss below. The mini-games included with the game are really great. They show off some great things with the touch screen. If a revamped version of Super Mario 64 isn't enough to warrant a purchase, the mini-games should change your mind. Never thought you could get addicted to simple card games? Try and resist Luigi's selection. Bottom line, buy this game, love this game, beat it over and over, it's amazing.
Overall: 9.5

Replay Value: Are you kidding? 150 stars, 4 playable characters, tons of mini-games. You could play it forever. Just that fact that it's fun to start the game from scratch and go through it over and over again shows how great the replay value in this game is.
Overall: 9.0

From top to bottom this is an amazing game. Despite the fact it came out way back in the day. That shows how good of a game it actually is, with a face-lift, it's a reborn classic! First must own game for the DS. Slight control issues are of little problem, once mastered you won't slip up often. Buy this game, now!

Overall: 9.5

Good review Peanut.

Here's mine, for Feel the Magic.

Graphics:
This game doesn't blow you away with it's high poly counts, or it's crazy textures... no. It kills you with style. The presentation of the game is amazing. The entire experiance is presented through celshading, is very well animated, and makes great use of the dual screens. When you start up a scene, comic strips tell you the story of what's going on (usually 4 panels, 2 per screen).
9/10

Sound:
The music is so so. It's this games big weak point. The tunes are catchy while you're listening to them, but they don't stick around after the power's off.
5/10

Gameplay:
Here's where the game really shines. It makes perfect use of the DS's features. The face buttons are used ONCE in the whole game, for a feature in the menu where you can zoom in on girl. We have our first perverted DS game with Feel the Magic as well. In the same button-using mode, you can touch the girl anywhere, and she reacts. The actual game is made up of minigames. Not a single game has been alike so far, and I'm at the very end of the game. Sonic Team's put a lot of work in to making the game shine. You do everything from riding a unicycle between rooftops, to cleaning dirt off the girl.
10/10

Replay Value: There are a ton of hidden things in this game, plus some of the mini games just BEG to be played in public (like Microphone, where you have to scream at the top of your lungs to get the girls attention, and Candle, where you have to actually blow on to the system to blow out candles.). Add in a hard mode, and a 'paper doll' featuere that lets you design your own girl (that you even get to 'touch'), and you won't get bored anytime soon.

Overall: 8.5/10

Thank you Barkworm. I was going to start this, but forgot. Let's see, everyone knows Mario 64 is a god game, so I'll do Feel the Magic too.
__________________

Developed by Sonic Team

Published by Sega

Graphics (6.9): The game isn't much for the graphics department, but that's not the point. The Cel shading and 1960's Japanese art deco fit this Sonic Team game nicely. The cilouette characters are good, because it lets you imagine they are whoever you want them to be. I especially like the Ulala wig you get when sticking Sonic Advance into the GBA slot. Overall very nice and fitting.

Sound (8.0): I actually really liked the music. There's not much of it, but it seemed to get stuck in my head. Very, very catchy.

Gameplay (9.5): Two words. Breast Fondeling. Could you ask for anything more. You scream into your DS, blow your DS (take that as you will), ride down hills in shopping carts, and fling hitchhikers at you rivals car. The whole game is completely fu*ked up, perverted, and is a work of mad genius. Where else could you undress a girl on the beach and then dance in the sand. Want to clean dirt off of her ass? They've got that too. Just about every DS feature is used here.

Replay Value (9.0): You can play this game forever. There's not as many mini-games as there could be, but they're so wierd and addictive, you don't care. Besides, poking breasts never gets old. It's basically Wario Ware for perverts. Buy it now.

Overall Score (9.1)

So basically, this is THE game for lonely men? :lol:

Pretty much. IMHO, every DS owner should have 2 games in their collection right now, Mario 64 DS and Feel the Magic.

I wanted Ridge Racer too, but nah. Feel the Magic is THE game.

Final Fantasy VII for Playstation

Graphics: When this first came out, in 1997, these were unbelieveable graphics, but now... they aren't all that great, but i really like them anyway. The backgrounds and surroundings are great.

8/10

Music: By god... this is probably my favorite music in any game, well, besides from Knights of the Old Republic. Each character has their own theme in this game, and it has the Sephorith theme and Aeris theme, and Aeris has fantastic music. It's so catchy, i even have the cd for the game.

10/10

Gameplay: At first, i wasn't used to having to push the O button to select things, i was always used to the X button at the time this game came out. But the gameplay is easy, and fun.

10/10

Story: Yes. This is what i love about this game, and that is the frickin' story. It's so... what's the word? Ah yes, brilliant. Each character have their own thing to do with Cloud, whom you would be in this game 95% of the time. To this day i am still confused about what all happens in this game.

10/10

Replayability: Well... i think if you play for the first time, not knowing what is goign to happen, it will take you around 72 hours. And i was playing this non stop before. I have played and beaten this game around 6 times and i still get a kick out of it. There are a whole lot of side quests in this game to do if you want to know more about the area around you and your teammates.

10/10

...and a side note: This has the best Cid in any FF, IMHO :)

That'll pry be my next DS game. Thats the one with the touch-steering wheel, right?

Yup. Virtual Steering wheels.

Another review of a game I beat a couple of weeks ago:

Sly Cooper (PS2)

Story and Presentation: Very good. The story is quite interesting and is shown in these really cool flash animation cut scenes. New chapters always start like an episode of a cartoon show and it's really a lot of fun to follow the story.
8.5/10

Graphics: The graphics are pretty good with some good use of cel shading. The game is already two years old and there are similar games with better graphics but it looks good nevertheless. There are some more than annoying slowdowns though.
7.5/10

Sound: Most of the music is very simple and mediocre. It's really nothing special. The voice acting on the other hand is very well done.
7/10

Gameplay: When I read the words "generic platformer" in the Nintendo thread I felt the sudden urge to review this game because that's exactly what it is. There's almost nothing about the gameplay that you haven't seen in other platformers. Plenty of the levels are weakly designed and boring especially in the middle part of the game. There are a couple of cool things though like a bemani like boss fight and the whole last chapter. The latter is the only challenging part of the game btw, the rest is ridiculously easy. To make this even worse, you can find two upgrades that make you unvulnerable against falling into water and even against falling from cliffs. Who the hell has ever heard of a platformer in which you survive when you fall from a cliff?? "Sly Cooper" is probably the easiest game I've ever played.
7/10

Lasting Appeal: Once you've beaten the game you'll probably come back to find all pages of the "Thievius Raccoonus" but even that won't take you longer than 8 hours at most. After that you can try to get the "Master Spirits": If you beat a level in a certain time you can unlock audio commentary of the developers. While the rest of the game is too easy, those master spirit tasks are almost unfair and no fun at all.
5.5/10

Overall: Sly Cooper is not a bad game but as far as sheer gameplay is concerned there are tons of better games. The game's presentation saves a lot. I don't think it's worth buying but if you are really bored it's good enough for a rental. Use a walkthrough though to avoid the two upgrades I mentioned, they take a lot of the game's value.
7.4/10

Meh, another shot at Mario's throne gone generic. Not really Sony's fault. You just can't copy perfection.

Although this is the first console generation in which a Mario game isn't the best platformer (at least until Mario 128 is released).
If anyone cares, here's an updated version of my "Prince of Persia: Sands of Time" review. I also edited the "Warrior Within" review since I felt the rating was a little too low.

Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time (GameCube)

Story and Presentation: The story is nice and simple and the game really feels like a playable oriental fairy tale. Another big plus is the two main characters, the Prince and Farah. They really make the game feel alive.
9/10

Graphics:
Beautiful animation and level architecture, as well as some really good looking CGI movies. The facial motion is rather bad though.
8.5/10

Sound:
Great voice acting and some very nice pieces of music, oriental sounds mixed with heavy riffs. Unfortunately the sound is beyond horrible.
7/10

Gameplay:
The platformer parts of this game are awesome, maybe the best of the current console generation. The combat in comparison is a little dull and can get annoying at some points. There are only a few different combos but it's still quite cool to jump over a sand zombie and slice him. The sand abilitys are a nice feature but only the "Rewind" and "Stun" abilitys are really useul. "Sands" is not really a hard game although some of the fights can get pretty rough. The last boss is a bad joke however, he's way too easy.
8.5/10

Lasting Appeal:
This is the game's weak point. You can beat it in under 10 hours. It's the kind of game that can be played more than once without getting boring though.
7/10

Overall:
PoP: The Sands of Time is an awesome game that suffers from some obvious flaws. Nevertheless I'd recommend it to everyone.
Although I haven't played it, the X-Box version is probably the best one since the sound of the GC version is really (and I mean really) bad.
8.7/10

Review for: Resident Evil 4
By Spitfire666xXxXx


Graphics:
RE 4 has some breath taking visuals.At times there are a few little glitches though, like a guys hand through my head, but that happens very rarely. Leon looks amazing and the villagers are the most detailed enemy Ive ever seen in a game. Its like they actually spent time making the enemy look good. The backrounds are great to, even a close up on the ground doesn’t look that pixelated which is perfect
9/10

Game play:
Gameplay wise this game is a winner. It is fun, and you have to play it to understand how fun it can be. Running from hordes of angery Spanish villagers could never be so great. You can blow heads off with guns, kick heads off, stab them, set them on fire, shoot them off cliffs, shoot their hands and legs to make them drop to the ground or drop weapons, and theres more you can do. Sometimes after a moive plays you have to tap a button real fast to do something or you might die, for example after the first boss you have to press A real fast to cut a rope. It makes watching the movies more exciting. They let you do everything. You rarely don’t get to do something. Its so interactive you can shoot just about every object and get rewarded in some way. Treasure hunting is fun too, you can hunt for treasure and sell it or something ypu find stuff you can put togther and increase the value.
Another plus in this game is the AI. Its not stupid in the least. The computer knows more then you know and they make it seem that way. The villagers sourround you and try to flush you into building to corner you. If you go some place they cant reach they will throw cocktails at you until you come down, or catch on fire and die
The bosses are another thing I like in this game. Their really creative and during boss battles theres more to them then just, run around the boss shooting him. You have to dodge things and do special action button stuff
Now Im only on Chapter 2, right after just getting Ashley but this game has already impressed me enough to say all this about it
10/10

Game Modes:
Looks like theres just the normal game, maybe you unlock mini games
?/10

Controls:
The controls are so perfect you can tell it was made just for Gamecube
10/10

Sound:
The sound is really good! Everything sounds as it should, from head explosions to people yelling in Spanish. Even the voice acting isnt bad, which is new to me kinda lol
10/10

Extras:
I don’t know if there are any but I hear rumors of secert characters
?/10

Overall:
I can’t give them game a full review because I havnt beaten it but I covered the basics. I suggest anyone with a Gamecube should rent this atleast, even people who hate th Resident Evil series can enjoy this. I have to give it a 9 though until I know what the extras are
No Zombies = Great Game
9/10

Nice review Spitfire, I've never been interested in Survival Horror games before but I think I'll give RE4 a rent.

Anyway, I know it's been out since forever in the States, but us Europeans had to wait six months for FSA, and damn it, now that it's finally out and I've finished it, I'm reviewing it. New review system too. Might be a long post, bear with me.

---

-Game: The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventures
-System: Nintendo Gamecube
-Publisher: Nintendo
-Developer: Nintendo
-Players: 1-4 (Gameboy Advance's and GBA-GC Link cables are needed for every player when playing with more than one player, one GBA-GC Link cable included)
-Year: 2004

-Info:
A sequel to the Four Swords multiplayer add-on to the GBA remake of A Link to the Past, Four Swords Adventures puts the player in the shoes of not one, but four Links, who have to fight together (and against each other) to re-seal the evil Wind Sorcerer Vaati. The game includes two modes of play, Hyrulean Adventure being a full 2D Zelda quest for one to four players, while Shadow Battle lets 2 or more players duke it out to find out who is the weakest Link.

-Presentation: 07/10
Four Swords Adventures is a little more 'casual' than regular Zelda games, sometimes abandoning style for accessibility. Menus are simple and the game feels like more of an arcade game than an epic adventure. It's not that odd, though, since Four Swords Adventures often plays like one too. The cutscenes aren't very exciting either, though that's understandable since the game's meant to be played with friends, and not everyone likes to read a ton of dialogue. Overall the presentation is simple, but does what it's supposed to.
-Graphics: 07/10
Most of the tiles and objects are taken from the SNES' A Link to the Past, and re-textured to look less pixeled. Smoke and light effects in the style of The Wind Waker have also been added. While it looks nice on the TV screen, it isn't always as pretty on GBA, where the extra textures and effects are obviously missing. The Links themselves look great and are well animated, but unfortunately that cannot be said about most of the other character sprites. There are some that are quite ugly, especially when compared to the great-looking characters of the recently released The Minish Cap. Also, it's possible that you'll have trouble following the GBA action when playing on a regular (non-backlit) GBA, since some of the tiles are quite dark. Still, the graphics aren't too bad, it's just that the Gamecube can do much better.
-Sound: 08/10
Four Swords Adventures features some remixed Zelda tracks in addition to a number of new ones. The music is played from the TV (not the GBA)and the quality of the sound is great. While the tunes are nice, they're not overly exciting, and are mostly meant to be just background music. Sound effects are good, but too few. Link makes plenty of noise (Each Link has his own 'voice') but other than that the levels are pretty quiet.
-Gameplay: 09/10
Hyrulean Adventure is the main mode of the game, and is basically an all-new 2D Zelda game. It's quite good when playing solo, though not without its drawbacks. You'll die a lot easier (Not that it matters much since you'll have a large number of Force Fairies -which revive you when dead- in no time) and you don't really have any reason to collect Force Gems as frantically as you would in multiplayer since you have no one to compete against anyway. Still, Hyrulean Adventure is great even on your own and a reason for any 2D Zelda fan to consider Four Swords Adventures.

However, Four Swords Adventures is still a multiplayer game in essence, and should be played with friends for the full experience. Playing through a Zelda game together with one or more friends really is an awesome. You're forced to work together, but if you want to be the no. 1 Link, you'll need to bend the rules a little. Whoever collects the most Force Gems wins, and friendships will be put to the test fighting over them. But just as you've started hating your friends, you'll find yourselves facing a huge boss, fighting side by side, willing to take a full-force blow for each other. Then again, when someone dies all their Force Gems scatter across the level, waiting to be picked up...

Shadow Battle is kind of an arena mode, where the goal is to take out the opponents using whatever means possible. There are also a lot of Tingle's minigames to be played against each other.
-Control: 09/10
Those who were sceptic about the GBA-GC connectivity, rest assured. Switching screens takes a little getting used to, but within minutes it'll be second nature. Make sure the GBA's batteries have enough power though, because if one gets dissconnected somehow it's Game Over.

In singleplayer mode, the game can be played with a regular Gamecube controller, though I actually prefer using a GBA.
-Life: 09/10
Hyrulean Adventure consists of 24 levels, each of which basically being a full dungeon that will take about an hour to complete, so I wouldn't call the game short. Also, this is one of the best multiplayer games ever, and if you have some GBA-equipped friends around who understand at least the basics of Zelda, Four Swords Adventures has almost infinite replay value. Even when playing on your own, Hyrulean Adventure should be worth playing through a few times, and since it's level-based (You can select any level you've unlocked), you can always pop it in for some quick Zelda action.
-Feel*: 08/10
While it's more arcadey than other Zelda games, Four Swords Adventures still feels like a Zelda game and has tons of charm and appeal. Some may think a multiplayer Zelda is cheap, but if they'd play the game they'd soon find out that Four Swords Adventures is something special, even without the multiplayer 'gimmick'.

-Overall:
Four Swords Adventures is an amazing game, and proof that GBA-GC connectivity works. Solo players can enjoy a full 2D Zelda game, and any Zelda fan who has access to the multiplayer mode should get this game without a second thought.

-Final score: 89/100 (Not an avarage)

+ : Perfect balance between cooperation and competition, and one of the best mutiplayer games ever.
- : Gathering four Zelda fans, four GBA's and four GBA-GC Link cables is easier said than done.

---
*'Feel' is basically where I rate the 'soul' of a game, and how much I've personally enjoyed playing the game. I feel a good atmosphere and a nice feeling are one of the most important factors in a game, which is why I've decided to include them when reviewing.

Sorry for the long post. What can I say, I'm thorough.

Nice review Mecha Cow. Very nice. Although I've never felt any sense of competition while playing the game, and the friends I game with are pretty damn competative. (One threw us all out of his house, along with the game we were playing, WCW/nWo Revenge. He can't stand loosing.)

I decided that I won't buy it. I don't have a GBA and I don't think it's that much fun alone.

Ridge Racer DS
___________________

Graphics 7.5
Yeah, the DS is capable of FAR more, but Nintendo is saving this things real juice for when PSP's pretty sh*t comes out, so no biggie. There's the occational chunky texture, but the game runs at a solid 60 FPS, so Yeah! No flat roadside objects either.

Sound 8.5
Normally techno in a game tends to sound like crap, but this is some well thought out music. Very good stuff. Not much of it, but I like it. I like the announcer. He adds to the Arcade feel with some familiar samples. Car sounds kick ass as well.

Gameplay 8.8
Drive, ram stuff, powerslide. Hardcore stuff, and gets VERY hard after awhile. There's 8 tracks, and each is long and well thought out. The AI is cheap, but I expect that from an arcade game. The virtual steering wheel is a great idea, but takes a lot of practice to master. It's hard though, so be patient. D-Pad controls are good as ever. Very nice intro too.

Multiplayer 9.0
You can play any track in the game in single card multiplayer, and other users can download whichever car they want from your card. It shows just how much is possible in this mode. I expect Mario Kart to be fully supported because this sucker can download the whole track AT ONCE into up to 8 other DS's at once. They don't get the music or announcer, but the game runs at full speed with a VERY long range on the Wi-Fi. If this is a taste of the future of DS multiplayer, ON ONE CARD, then I am more than impressed.

Overall 8.7
Very awesome for a first gen title. Not the deepest title ever. Just pure arcade racing thrill. That makes me happy. Ridge Racer DS feels awesome when playing it. The whole package is just great. I hope to see Rush 2049 someday, or perhaps Daytona on the DS one day, but this will keep me plenty happy until Mario Kart rolls in. Buy it now.

I beat it about a week and a half ago, and I know someone else reviewed it before in the old thread (Mecha Cow I think), but I'm going to review Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door.

Graphics: Simple is probably the best way to describe the game. The whole thing takes place in a paper world, so obviously, everyone/thing is made of paper. That being said the characters in the game all look pretty cool even if they're very limited in movement and animation. The backgrounds are all 3D, and at times fairly detailed, but there really isn't much special about them. The paper effects in the game are pretty cool though, such as things ripping through the background, and enviroments changing a frame at a time, as if being animated via a flip book. There's very little to complain about, the graphics are overly simple, but they do a good job of getting things done. One complaint I do have is the fact that besides a few things, nothing actually looks very paper like in the game. They could have used a ton of special effects to make Mario actually look like a crumpled piece of paper when he rolls into a tube, or into a paper airplane, but most things just end up looking like boring character sprite. Not that big of a deal, but I thought they could have gone a lot further with the whole "paper" deal.
Score: 9.0

Sound: Despite the lack of voice overs, the sound in PM: TTYD is actually very good. There are a ton of really catchy tunes in the game, Glitzville is the first one that comes to mind. The sound effects are pretty basic Super Mario Bros. effects, and the Mario voice samples are nothing new either. I know Nintendo probably doesn't want Mario to right out have large conversations with people, but I think it might be time for them to put some true voice overs into their games for other characters. I know there would be a lot of worry about bad voice acting tainting the game, but I'm sure Nintendo could find some decent people to at least do a decent job.
Score: 9.0

Gameplay: I'll start by saying...I'm not a fan of RPG's. At all. Lots of text/speech + boring battle systems that I've seen time and time again don't equal fun at all. Luckily Paper Mario doesn't have anything of the type. The battle system is great. The fact that you actually play a part in the battles besides just pushing A to attack is great. Not only are Action Commands awesome, but Stylish Moves and Guard Commands are great as well. The whole audience element is another addition that makes Paper Mario stand out.
One of my favourite little things is



There are just so many gameplay elements to mention, but you would be better off trying them out for yourself.
Score: 10

Story: Since this is an RPG, story plays an important part. It all starts off pretty generic, collect the Seven Crystal Stars to keep the evil Lord Grodus and his X-Nauts from opening the Thousand Year Door. The story really takes off into some cool directions after about Chapter 3. The chapters themselves all play host to some cool elements. Several of which are really a surprise and fun to boot. Such as



Overall...it kicks ass. Plain and simple. From the surprises out of left field, to the overall charm and humor spread through out, it's just awesome. Who wouldn't find a Pianta crime syndicate amusing?
Score: 10

Replay Vaule: I sunk over 27 hours into the game my first time through, and that was without doing any side quests or additional searching around the various locals of the world. Now I'm knee deep in my second play through on Chapter 5 with upwards of 9 hours sunk again.
Score: 9.5

Overall: Basically...this game kicks major ass. My favourite game of the year without a doubt. Do yourself a favour, if you haven't played this game...get it...NOW!

Overall Score: 9.8

Yeah, I was the one who reviewed the game at the old GD forums.

Nice review, glad to see you enjoyed it as much as I did.

Paper Mario 1 kicked ass. I bought 2,, but just haven't had the time to play it yet. Paper Mario is like one of the best RPG's ever.

Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door was my favorite game of 2004 too. At the very beginning of the game I wasn't that impressed but by the end I loved it. The reason i wasn't that into it at first was the fact that the story really took some time to develop. Basically in the original Paper Mario, the story is thrown right out in the beginning of the game. But this one really started off slow and took some real time to develop, which i normally like but since the original one was just put out there at the beginning, i was honestly fearful that the little info i got about the story was about it and i wasn't impressed. But it wasn't and the story was amazing.

Did you guys beat the pit of 100 trials? Now that was fun.

I only went to about level 22 or so...I did it to



I'm going to go through it on this current play through though.

Yeah, i think i went through it four times. I went to level 22 or so for the same reason u did. Then i went to either 50 or 60 and realized i had no chance. I reached level 93 and died, and then finally i made it all the way through. It definitely takes some strategy to make it all the way through plus a little luck.

I'll have to go through it on my first save. I didn't even have much problem with the last boss with that one.

Anyways, recently I've been playing the old Crash Bandicoot games with my sister on PSX, so she begged my mom, who went out and got Crash Twinsanity for us. I'm on the final level of the game, so I thought I'd review it.

Crash Twinsanity
Xbox
Vivendi Universal Games
2004

Graphics: The Crash Bandicoot series has never been one for graphical superiority. The game is usually made up of simple characters and vibrant backgrounds. Crash Twinsanity is no different. You could describe the style in this game as cartoony, where the previous Crash Bandicoot efforts attempted to make Crash semi-real looking (Take the added Fur Shading in the Xbox version of Wrath of Cortex for example.) they obviously went for a total cartoony look for this game, and it works. Crash has always been an appealing character, and he looks the best he's ever looked in Crash Twinsanity, despite the fact that they dropped the fur from WoC. The other two playable characters, Dr. Neo Cortex, and his niece..or daughter (Neo seems to be hiding something.), Nina Cortex both look fairly good as well. Nina in particular has a pretty snazy look, from her school girl clothes, to her Bionic Commando appendages. Enemies are fairly detailed, with some obviously having more time spent on them than others. There are decent effects in the game, nothing mind blowing, you'll witness countless explosions through out, and they look pretty good. Character animation is awesome, everything in exaggerated perfectly to give it a very cartoon like feel. Crash is still a dope and his constant blank and cheerful expressions can't help but put a smile on your face. Dr. Cortex is probably the most animated of the bunch, and rightfully so, the poor guy gets trounced time and time again through out the game. Backgrounds are fairly detailed, and at times are very impressive, sometimes there's a bit of repeatition though. They range from the usual platforming staples, a lush jungle, to a snow capped iceberg, a volcano, caves, etc. etc. While not overly impressive, the graphics get the job done while looking very pretty at the same time.
Overall: 7.5

Sound: Crash Bandicoot, much like Mario, has a very distinct set of sounds. Everything you've heard before is back in Twinsanity. Crates shatter and TNT boxes explode with the same sound as they ever did, which is perfectly fine. There really aren't many voice samples during gameplay, but the cut scene dialouge is particularly impressive. Dr. Cortex outshines the lot in this category, mostly because Crash is yet another mute hero. Dr. Cortex is a joy to listen to, Lex Lang does a great job with Cortex and he sounds better than ever, many of his yelps and pleads are great, but it's his cut scene dialouge that really takes the cake. The cut scenes themselves are often quite amusing. The best example being when Cortex gets accousted by a pack of angry, jet-pack wearing, penguins, who insist he isn't allowed to have his ice berg laboratory back because his last check bounced. There are problems though, at times the dialouge will not only be pointless, but sometimes it'll cut in and out, and in a couple cut scenes it disappeared completely, although it has to be noted that the bad dialouge only came from secondary characters. The music in the game is...well something only a Crash game could pull off. It's overly silly, and I love it. It's performed by a single "band" who make all their music using only vocals, the opening theme/Nsanity Island song is so catchy you'll find yourself humming along in no time. Some of the other tunes are hit or miss, and at times get quite annoying (see Ice Berg levels). The sound has it's good points, but it also has it's problems. S some glitchy effects and dialouge here and there, plus some repetative stuff in several of the levels, but it's still quite good.
Overall: 8.0

Gameplay: Crash games have always been nothing but entertaining, the simple level designs and clever platforming puzzles were always a joy to play. Luckily most if that is back, and there are several improvements, but also a couple downfalls. The biggest thing to mention is that the games levels no longer follow a singular path, they're all in full 3D now, but that doesn't mean they're opened ended like Super Mario 64, a couple of them are still quite linear and at times are pretty much just like the old Crash games. There's one glaring problem I saw in the transition, there's no real hub between levels. As where most platforming games now have a central hub world, Crash has a kind of semi-hub. There are areas where you're not in a level, but it doesn't feel that way. All the levels lead back to the one singular spot, such as Dr. Cortex's lab on the Ice Berg, but if you want to get back and play a level, it'll be a lot more difficult than just jumping into a painting, or going through a portal, you'll have to either backtrack through an entire level, or do a full circle around the hub area to find an entrance. The levels blend seamlessly into the hub, which I guess is pretty neat, but it makes for some confusing, and sometimes frustrating moments. Trying to tell where a level begins and where it ends is almost impossible. The levels themselves are more diverse than I've ever seen in a platforming game, in terms of gameplay. They're split into several different types, with some levels combining several different elements. These include things like Rollerbrawling, guiding Crash and Dr. Cortex, enganged in a fist fight, down chutes, ramps and platforms. These levels feel a lot like Super Monkey Ball and are tons of fun. Then there are the typical Crash levels, you break crates, collect wumpa fruit, smack enemies around and go through some nifty platforming elements. Dr. Cortex is a bit different, you'll utilize his ray gun to blast crates and enemies away, and activate switches. Nina Cortex has some pretty cool moves. She can spin and jump, although a lot weaker and shorter than Crash can, but she can also punch enemies from a distance with her spring loaded hands, and grab onto rings to swing and jump from walls or between gaps, which is really a ton of fun. Then there are the Crash/Cortex buddy levels. These basically have Crash abusing Dr. Cortex to no end. He can spin Cortex around in a double spin, use has flat head as a hammer, and toss him across gaps to clear a path or activate switches. The levels also include some variations, like having to roll Cortex around in a steel barrel and into chutes so he can activate platforms far across a level. Then there's "Humiliskating" basically in these levels Crash kicks Cortex's ass out a window and uses him as a snowboard to get down huge hills, these levels are great if to only hear Cortex scream in pain as his male region is used to grind along steel posts. Basically there are tons of different elements in this game, all of which are quite fun, with the exception of some of Cortex's stuff. The game, at times, will smack you in the face with a frustratingly hard bit of platforming or puzzle solving. There are quite a few of these moments, and it just seems like they throw in these cheap little pieces to make the game seem harder, when it just makes you want to stop playing. Now on to one of the few really bad things about the game, about a little over half way through a huge change comes over the game, instead of happy sappy Crash Bandicoot style , you get all this dark broody stuff. It starts when you visit the Academy of Evil to retrieve Nina Cortex, and it quickly goes down hill from there. Every game needs it's dark parts, but once you hit that stage of the game, it just flies into bleakness. There's no more happy music, no more bright colourful stages. You get stuck with gothic rock music, and dark, torched ground with satanic looking totem poles instead of the silly stuff you normally see in Crash games. Crash himself looks terribly out of place in these enviroments with his bright orange fur. Overall there are a ton of cool elements in the game, the Crash levels are obviously the best, but when Crash is paired with Cortex it's not only funny, but down right great to play. A bunch of things detract from the game, the broken hub world, the sometimes frustrating bits and pieces of cheap level design, and the style change for the worse after the half way point, but it's still a ton of damn fun, more than I expect to be sure.
Overall: 7.7

Replay Value: It's a pretty short game to be sure, probably around 4:30 to 5 hours for your normal gamer, but if you want to 100% it, it'll take you quite a while. There are a ton of gems to collect for each world and each level, which unlock bonus material much like DVD extras.
Overall: 7

Overall: Crash Twinsanity is a game that, despite some noticeable glares, is definately a fine platformer. Withouth the charm of Crash Bandicoot though, it would slide into mediocrity. As it stands it could have been so much more, it's enjoyable for sure, and I suggest trying it out if you ever have the chance, but this will go down as one of those games where I wonder what could have been. If they can improve on the formula in the next installment, they'll have a real winner on their hands.


Overall Score: 7.3

I don't want this thread to die so here's a short review of:

Jak 3 (PS2)

Story and Presentation: Neat. The story is pretty well done, since it's told in some excellent cut scenes.
HUGE SPOILERS!
8.5/10

Graphics: The highlights are the in-game graphics cutscenes. I think they have some of the best animations I've ever seen. Apart from that the graphics are very good too, although they have a LOT of vertical tearing and some slowdowns.
8.5/10

Sound: Music and sound effects are nicely done. The music sounds a lot like in the Ratchet and Clank games, so if you like the music there you'll like it here too. The voice acting is just awesome. Especially Daxter is great as ever.
8.5/10

Gameplay: The original Jak & Daxter was a classic platformer. The second one was a GTA ripoff with platforming elements, lots of action and a difficulty that was just way too much for the average gamer and just unfair at some times. A lot of fans of the first one were turned off by it. Those people probably won't like this one either.
So what is this game? It starts with a little platforming. Then it goes into shooting stuff. After that you'll do a couple of races with dune buggys (the dune buggys are extremely cool, by the way). There are also some missions on the so called "hoverboard". Does this all fit together? I'd say YES. It's just a lot of fun. Fortunately Naughty Dog has reduced the "GTA-ishness" so the game is pretty much straight forward now and offers a lot of variety in the different missions. Most of the weapons are very cool, the dune buggys are really a lot of fun to drive (and I hate driving in games) and the hoverboard, although it's slow, is a nice little extra too. Dark and Light Jak are also pretty cool ideas, although you'll rarely use them.
The difficulty was one of the major problems of the last "Jak" game. It was just way too hard at some points! "Jak 3" is still not an easy game but you'll never find anything unfair in it. It has a very enjoyable grade of difficulty.
8.5/10

Lasting Appeal: First time through will take about 15 hours if you ignore all the secrets. It's actually not a long game but fair enough compared to other games I've recently played.
7.5/10

Overall: "Jak 3" is a very entertaining game. There were rarely any missions that I didn't enjoy. I also really like the characters. Of course it's not inventive or anything but the game pulls off its thing really well. Don't expect a platformer though. This game has platforming elements but basically it's an action game. And a really good one at that.
8.5/10


Yes, I know you people don't care because you all hate the PS2. I hate you too. :P

I'm sure the thread won't die, it's probably just because no one has gotten anything new lately.

The PS2 platformers were all just crap to me. Ratchet and Clank wasn't bad, but I thought all 3 Jak games were terrible.

As for PS2 itself...I hate it, for good reason.

What was bad about Jak and Daxter? That game was a fine platformer.

I just didn't like it. There's something about Jak I don't like, the character that is. I didn't have any fun when I played the last two, and I traded the first one in after I bought it only 3 days before. Ratchet and Clank is a different story. I'll give that game a little love, because at least it does some stuff differently, with the whole gun/platforming thing. Jak was just too much of stuff that's not only been done before, but done better.

I see where you're coming from. I also like Ratchet and Clank better, especially the second one. Actually I'm a huge fan of the second game. It added some RPG elements to the gameplay, had a ton of totally different weapons and was really huge for a game of that kind. I still need to play the third one.

And then Sony killed the franchise. Stupid bastards. :roll:

The Ratchet series hasn't been killed off.

Aren't they done with Jak, though? I remember hearing something about them stopping at 3.

Yup, Naughty Dog doesn't want to do more Jak games.

Whiceans it'll be sold to Universal and become a new addition to their long running of Sh*tty GBA games alongside Spyro & Crash. Sad sight.

Actually I think the first GBA Crash game got a ton of great reviews, and I'm sure one of the Spyro games wasn't all that bad either.

Look for my Wario Ware Touched review soon :D

I picked it up today and so far i have to say i'm a little disappointed. Normally I love mini games, and I honestly believe the DS was made/designed to play minigames but gamestop had it right imo about the game being repetitive. It just doesn't have the variety that feel the magic has. It's still fun just a bit of a let down.

Wario Ware Touched
_________________________

Graphics: 7.0
For the most part, simplistic, but it's Wario Ware. It's gotta move fast and furious so you don't need to bother noticing. The opening cinema animations are far superior to the original GBA game, and they're damn funny as well. The game makes good use of the DS's 3D prowess for the series 3D debuet (no, I don't count the GCN game), and it's a treat to look at.

Sound: 7.0
Now, for the most part the game has great music, but the tunes don't stick in your head. I found myself turning on the original just to hear the music, but it just dosen't stick as well here. The sound effects on the other hand kick all kinds of ass, especially the 9-Volt old school stuff. The game was actually done by a different team than the first because they were busy with Twisted so I can write the few gripes I have off. The music does have a few lyrical songs here and there, and for where they're placed, it's funny as hell. Why? Keep Reading

Presentation: 9.5
Pure Kickass Wario Ware, and has somepretty sick/stupid ass humor (a good thing believe me). The familiar 70's deco look is back in full force. There's some new characters here and there, such as Jimmy T's family (goofy looking), but there's one new addition that made me almost drop my DS in disbelief. Her name is Ashley......and she's a cute little worshiper of Satan. Yes my friends, Nintendo has opted to put a satanic worshiper in Wario ware, and she is just nutso. The little (real) goth wants to put Obatron in her devil's brew, and the music they sign during her gameplay sounds like the Addam's Family theme on HARDCORE crack. It's the craziest thing I've ever seen come out of Nintendo. Worth the purchase just to see that.

Gameplay: 8.0
Now, people complain that the game is rather repetative because you use only the touch screen, but they're forgetting something. The original just used the cross pad and the A botton on 95% of the games. There's not a really big difference, and you can't wiin just by rubbing non-stop. That won't get you anywhere. There are 180 games, and they are all fun as dope. I didn't find them to get old, and the funny cinema scenes made me laugh out loud.

Overall, the game is highly recomended. It has flaws, but all do, and they don't kill the experience by any means. It puts that DS to heavy use, and works you just as hard as the original did. It's some of the best fun I've had this winter.

Overall Score 8.0



Tune in in a couple of days when I bring you my Star Fox Assualt review :)