October 2008 Archives

'Isn't that the game that copies GTA?' my mate asked me when I told him I was reviewing Saints Row 2 rather than heading for the pub....

That seems to be the general vibe when discussing Saints Row 2 - lets clear one thing up - wrong.

Saints Row is a different beast entirely, it feels a bit more personal to start with, being able to fully customise your character, gang and car...

There is a less serious feel to the game than in GTA, it is the same gang warfare themes but there is a lot less emphasis on getting things done and much more emphasis on having some fun, Saints Row is a addictive, and it's a laugh. It doesn't try to be GTA, but it does of course have a plethora of similarites.

Graphically it falls short of GTA but it doesn't fall short of what's acceptable - graphically this is mega, very nicely designed, a great city and superb characters - there is a vast amount of challenges and excitement involved in the game and multiplayer as with GTA gives the game a whole new lease of life.

The buzz word of Saints Row would be carnage, that's what it's all about, blow stuff up tear around causing chaos at a breackneck speed an laugh a lot whilst doing so!

There is a story though honest, your character wakes from a coma to find a whole new city to the one he left behind... then you have to rebuild your gang and retain control.

Great graphics and sound make Saints Row a very decent game indeed, the soundtrack is quality and has some good voice acting too.

There are loads of similarities with GTA but this game is even more over the top and certainly a lot more fun. Expect plenty of violence and bad behaviour as you battle to take back the streets.

A good alternative but not a replacement.

Basketball games have come a long way since the days when I was a teenager and playing the old NBA jam games with my mates... they have evolved, progressed, faltered and on many occasions really failed to deliver.

The 2K sports games have been seriously going head-to-head for a few years now and once again the "K guys do a serious slam dunk with this mega-slick and ultra playable bit of court action.

Graphically the game is nigh on perfection, plenty of effort has gone into characters facially and physically and the end result is impressive.

As with the last couple of titles the gameplay is not as instantly accessible as you would expect, it's a little difficult to master but very rewarding when you get there.

There is enough in terms of options and depth to keep you interested whatever your level of basketball interest and if you fancy playing online you will probably be overjoyed at the depth on offer.

This is a very strong title with a lot of excellent features and areas of extremely high quality like the graphics and gameplay.

If you want to get into a basketball game then this is a very very good place to start.

Jet Brody, if I was an action hero that's just the kind of name I would pick.

That's who you play as in Fracture the latest game to come out of the LucasArts stable, the box makes you think that this is a Halo clone, well actually it's not, and I was surprised.

The game actually strives to be something different than just a futuristic shooteer and gets plus points for that.

It introduces a unique element to the proceedings by giving you a rather nifty weapon 'the entrencher' which lets you blow holes in the terrain and also raise the terrain, fracture and freezing it too... You can do this to help with attack or defense and it's a great tool which is loads of fun.

The war is raging in America in the future, the country has been split by the great flood and with cyborgs for enemies and a strong political storyline throughout this is a very gripping setting and storyline.

There are some very recognisable landscapes throughout the game as you deform various landscapes as you go, this 'entrencher' tool is a big part of thegameplay - perhaps too big at times, but it does have unique uses and is on the whole extremely good fun to use.

I loved just running around and making giant hills appear in front of me and creating vortexes to scoop up the cyborgs and everything else around at the time. Top stuff really which is why the general supporting gameplay is a bit of a letdown.

The game has a great niche that it uses very very well but when you get passed that the mechanics of the rest of the game are mundane and very pedestrian. Nothing new really at all, the 'entrencher' is the game's main hook.

Graphically the game is very impressive, the score is awesome and sounds fantastic and despite some wooden one-dimensional characters there is a decent storyline.

This game brings some brilliant ideas to the battlefield, unfortunately it can't take the heat of the battle.

Review by Katie Smith aged 10

This game is great fun, very easy (but not too easy) and has some great cute graphics.

The aim of the game is to get all the different worlds and complete them all; you do this by doing all the activities there. It's good how you can collect 20 different pets, such as birds; cats; dogs; horses; rabbits and much more.

I like how you can play at the maximum of 16 mini games like hide and seek, pass the ball, swinging etc.

I also like how there are over 100 different pet accessories and more to buy at Meow Market.

It's good your pets come on a mini train!!! Finally, I like how you name your pets with the name that suits you best.

It's a great game but just misses that special touch. I really enjoyed it though and kids of my age who are looking for a cute game with cute pets and lot's of fun.

For me FIFA 08 was as close to perfection as any footie game has managed, working on a different level to the more nichey and equally superb Pro Evo - FIFA is mainstream football gaming that is about as good as it gets.

So is FIFA 09 a development? A backward step?

Well rest easy FIFA fans, the waiting is over, the game is immense - and the online play is better than ever!

I think the best way to deal with this game is to start by ticking a few boxes...

1 Graphics: Breathtaking - the best looking football game ever - bar none.

2 Sound: Good commentary - realistic auido, good choice of tracks.

3 Optons: Another big tick, FIFA has taken the Be A Pro mode and made it stronger and enhanced it no end. Last year gave you a feel of what was to come, this year you get whhat was to come. The game is very rich and offers mega-depth and enjoyement for gamers.

4 Online: Playing against friends and strangers is great fun and certainly better than ever, you can even play 10 v 10 if you are brave enough!

For years there has been an intense and bitter rivalry between Pro Evo and FIFA, handbags at 20 paces, mud-slinging, armies of die-hard fans refusing to give the other any credit, I even had one of these discussions this morning.

The die-hard Pro Evo fans will never accept FIFA and visa-versa... chalk and cheese.

I have a very warm and comfortable view from a fence, I like both, and the irony in my opinion is that these two games really should not even be competing anymore.

They are fundamentally very different, even if they are also very similar in places.

A jolly little title landed on my desk this week and whilst it may not pull up too many trees it's certainly worth a mention in a time where smaller games like this sometimes fail to get a mention.

It's basic bucanneering as you sail your galleon around the high seas shooting things up, collecting bits booty and picking up crewmen.

The gameplay is very simplistic indeed and harks back to an age of gaming that seems long passed - maybe that's why I liked it, I am a gaming dinosaur in many ways.

Had the kids played this one they would probably have been baffled by the cheap and cheerful approach.

For me though this was nicely designed, playable little game with some great graphics, sound and ideas.

It is held back by it's charm in many ways, people expect more.... sometimes that's a bad thing.

Ok in the next few days we have Fifa 09, Saint's Row 2, Fracture and Pro Evolution Soccer 09 coming up but for now the kids are still taking over proceedings...

Katie (10) took a look at Zubo a DS game from gaming giants EA, now from what I could gather from looking over Katie's shoulder Zubo was about as mental a game as they come, totally wacky but she seemed to love it... here's what she had to say...

Katie: The game itself is quite easy but always lots of fun, the aim of the game is to make friends with Zubo's and walk around ZUBALON looking for Zombos and fighting them.

At the end of the game you and all your Zubo friends will fight the Big Head and his army.

I think it's good how there are 100 battle moves to discover. The first move you have is pat-a-cake which is Pinki's (the first Zubo you meet) move. I also think it's good how in multiplayer mode you can pick your squad to beat your friends.

You can explore 10 unique lands in full 3D including Wild West, Horror and Fairytale.

Zubo is great fun and very exciting and different.

I am having a fairly easy week this week, the kids have been at it again reviewing games for me.. Lego Batman is the latest in a series of visually stunning and ludicrously brilliant and addictive games depicting famous films in lego bricks.

I don't know why these games work so well, perhaps it is the quirkiness, brilliant graphics, comic genius, who knows? There are so many reasons to tell people to play these games, for me Star Wars was the ultimate game, Indiana Jones was fantastic and Batman keeps the series flying high.

Right, will hand over to the kids again, I am off to make a brew!

Emily (15): Having played the other two games we were really looking forward to this and it didn't dissapoint us - at first the game seems quite difficult but it is quite easy once you get the hang of it

Katie (10): I like how you can play as single or two player. If you are on single player you can switch from Batman to Robin because both of them have different powers in different suits. In two player mode you still play the story but player one is Batman and player two is Robin. I enjoyed playing as both characters because they both have different powers and outfits.

I know nothing about High School Musical other than it seems like a load of technicolour nonsense with insanely energetic kids and catchy dances.

My kids love it and if the films have been on in our house once they have blitzed our tv screen a million times, for that reason I will hand you over to Katie (10) and Emily (15)...

Emily: There are two difficulties in this great game - there is Junior Varsity which is quite easy and is recommended for younger players and then there is Varsity, which is a little more difficult and is recommended for older players. Throughout the game you can change the difficulty in the options menu.

Katie: I like how on the main menu you can choose the Jukebox, where you can listen to the new High School Musical 3 songs. You also unlock new songs the more you play the game.

It's also good how as you play through the game you unlock new photos, quotes, signatures and graphics for the yearbook. Even when you have completed all of the quizzes and songs, you can replay them and continue to keep unlocking new things.

Emily: In story mode, some of the challenges are when a High School Musical 3 song is playing and there are four different ways that you have to play the beat. There is a wave that you have to keep within the green marker, or you have to catch the correct coloured balls in the matching coloured circles, or you have to tap the circles as they fall down the screen as soon as they turn green and the final way is by tapping the basket balls as they fall into the baskets.

Katie: Another thing in story mode is that you have to answer quizzes and it will reveal which High School Musical character you are most like or would get on best with. That's a great feature!

Emily: You can play this game in multiplayer mode. Here you can host a game or join one that is already in session.

Katie: There were no bad points about this game... it's brill and all HSM fans will think it is fantastic!