Platformer

Obvious Choices:
Sonic the Hedgehog, Spyro, Blinx, Conker: Live & Reloaded
Featured Game: Psychonauts
“Psychonauts is, at its core, a platformer. However, unlike the typical platformers of the current generation, this is a free-roaming adventure that removes almost every restriction. The camp grounds in which Raz can explore are large and there are a number of hard to reach areas which will challenge your platforming acumen. And if you hope to collect everything in Psychonauts, you’ll need to explore every inch of the campgrounds. And there’s a lot to collect…

As much fun as I had with the gameplay, it’s the humor of Psychonauts that really makes it worthwhile. The first half of Psychonauts is unbelievably funny… The only problem with making a funny game is that the minute it stops being funny, it becomes glaringly obvious. The last few hours of Psychonauts, while dotted wth some humorous moments, just isn’t as off-the-wall laugh-so-loud-you-wake-up-your-girlfriend funny as the earlier moments.

Actually, Psychonauts is an attractive game, even if it’s best described as having “a lot of personality.” Though some of the texture work isn’t that hot and Raz isn’t exactly overflowing with sly animations, the environments are vivid and original. Though I miss the boring gray walls of endless buildings and rehashed environments in every first-person shooter, I just love the look of Psychonauts. Each level is so unique that there’s little that could be re-used from one level to the next. There’s absolutely no sense of repetition here and each environment perfectly fits the situation. Art is about more than hi-res textures and specular highlighting — it’s also about design and Psychonauts has design out the wazoo.

Featured Game: Voodoo Vince
“Voodoo Vince is a fun-loving and solidly built action/platform game in search of a little magic. You guide a cute little voodoo doll who’s on a quest to rescue his creator from an evil magic man and restore order to the secret world of magic in New Orleans. The Big Easy locales help the cartoon visuals score major style points, and they set the stage for some great Dixieland-style jazz licks in the audio score, too.

The game plays like an homage to the platform action made popular by a shipload of titles before it, including Donkey Kong. But so much of it is familiar that it walks a tightrope between being fresh and being too derivative.

Vince, however, features one-of-a-kind combat action in keeping with his voodoo-doll origins. Beat him up in all manner of goofy, insane ways, and you don’t hurt him, but you will damage his enemies. For instance, summoning a magic anvil smashes Vince, but his foes wind up flatter than yesterday’s pancakes! The 30 voodoo attacks are a little masochistic but they’re a ton of fun. The controls do a masterful job of keeping that voodoo you do in order, too. Vehicle races with mini-jets and fanboats, and a nice array of mini-games round out Vince’s challenges.”

Action

Obvious Choices:
Ninja Gaiden, Spiderman, Star Wars, MechAssault, Advent Rising, More

Featured Game: Jet Set Radio Future
“The gameplay in Jet Set Radio Future, much like the story, mixes old and new elements. While the game’s core gameplay is unchanged–you’ll still get around the streets with magnetically charged skates and collect spray paint cans that you’ll use to spray graffiti on your surroundings–some of the mechanics and control have been tweaked. You’ll find the same basic control layout as in Jet Grind Radio, but with a few more control options. The left analog stick gives you analog control over your skater’s speed. Pressing down on the stick also lets you perform a controlled grind that is useful when tagging….
If you’ve played Jet Grind Radio, you’ll notice several changes to the way the new game handles. Tagging has been simplified to a single press of the R trigger when you’re near tagging icons. Holding down the trigger will automatically tag the larger pieces of graffiti made up of multiple icons. The mechanics for dashing have also changed–the basic dash used in Jet Grind Radio has been replaced by the much more potent “boost dash.” Essentially a turbo boost that uses up 10 cans of paint, boost dashing can be useful in many situations. Aside from the obvious increase in speed, the boost dash will also serve as an offensive attack that’s vital to dealing with Rokkaku forces later in the game.

Jet Set Radio Future also includes a complete trick system that is actually integral to gameplay. Performing tricks will increase your speed when grinding, which is essential for making some of the seemingly impossible jumps you’ll have to make. Trick combos are also vital to your success in other ways, as they will often let you reach new areas… Visually, Jet Set Radio Future stands as one of the Xbox’s best-looking games yet, and that’s saying a lot. The game’s cel-shaded graphics and distinct art style are incredibly beautiful–a definite improvement upon those of the Dreamcast predecessor, which also looked spectacular for its time…. Jet Set Radio Future’s sound is almost as good as its graphics. In keeping with the game’s massive size, Smilebit has assembled a truly eclectic mix of music that mingles tunes by JGR Vets Hideki Naganuma and Richard Jacques with pieces from the Latch Brothers and Cibo Matto. The end result doesn’t provide quite as cohesive an auditory experience as that found in the original Jet Grind Radio, due to some dissonant and sometimes grating tunes that stick out, but the music still suits the action very well overall, and there’s plenty of it.

Featured Game: GunValkyrie
“I have a deep appreciation for GUNVALKYRIE in the same way that a boxer respects an opponent that he just KO’d in the 12th round. It’s about respect. It’s a game that will test your skill as a gamer because it’s so unforgiving and requires you to learn its deep and sophisticated philosophies. If you come into GV thinking you know how to handle it, you’ll spend a lot of time spinning your wheels playing the same levels over and over again. I like how GUNVALKYRIE smacks you down time and time again if you don’t learn the proper techniques that it’s trying to teach you and then perfect them. That’s immersion in a game at its finest….I don’t want to be overly critical of GUNVALKYRIE’s steep learning curve because all of the answers are right there in front of you, somewhere, while you’re playing and it all makes sense once you get the hang of it. But, in fact, that is the game’s one shortcoming: just an overall feeling of making things difficult for you. Even though it’s done on purpose and with good reason, I can easily see how this can turn off many gamers these days. With so many easy choices out there and so many instant gratification games on all systems, gamers have no reason to bang their heads against this Xbox game.”

Featured Game: Breakdown
“At the heart of Breakdown’s gameplay is the fantastic first-person perspective from which the action and story unfolds. The 3D, first-person view goes much further than a traditional FPS title. Instead of just using a first-person “camera,” Breakdown provides more of realistic viewpoint as seen through the eyes of Derrick himself. Beyond the viewpoint of Derrick, players will also experience various physical effects that he undergoes. When you are attacked, Derrick will lose his balance as he suffers the force of a hit or kick from a deadly T’lan warrior. As Derrick falls to the floor, or is flipped upside down, players will also suffer a distorted and blurred view before they must right themselves and regain their position. This makes for some tricky combat situations because often times an attack could come from behind, so on top of being blindsided on your ass, you will also have to pick Derrick back up as well as turn to face the attacker to prevent a second ass beating.

It’s the subtle attention to detail that makes Breakdown such a fresh look at the first-person genre while also adding a more realistic experience than you may expect. For instance, as Derrick moves, he will grow tired, and as he runs he will breathe more heavily. This will make his body move slightly up and down as he breathes, which will be noticed by the first-person view. During the initial training exercises players will notice that even simple moves like climbing a ladder or traversing side to side while dangling from a ledge require a good deal more effort than expected. Most games simply require the player to look up and push forward to move up a ladder, but Breakdown deliberately incorporates the various steps actually taken to do so. Players will have to first reach their hand out with the action button and again hit the action button to grab the first rung of the ladder. Then as Derrick begins making his way up or down the ladder, the viewpoint can be controlled to look to the sides and up and down while moving. Rather than just shimmying up or down, players will watch as Derrick grabs each rung and makes his way along each step of the ladder, no matter how tall or short it may be.”

On-Rails Shooter

Featured Game: Panzer Dragoon Orta
“A shooter with a solid storyline, stunning graphics, and great sound, Panzer Dragoon Orta looks to carry on the tradition of its predecessors. For many, this will be their first real introduction to the series. But don’t worry, Panzer novices can still enjoy the game and those who played the earlier versions will almost certainly be pleased. Panzer Dragoon Orta is the perfect way to start the new year and is the best rail shooter of all time. Period…
Panzer is heavy on shooting. In fact, you’ll have trouble finding many games where you do as much shooting as you do here. But unlike most shooters, where you must always kill to survive, many of the enemies in Orta don’t have to be shot in order to progress. The point of Panzer isn’t simply to beat a level or beat the game. It’s partly about experiencing the sights of Panzer’s world and partly about replaying levels to attain better rankings. There are plenty of creatures in Orta you won’t have to kill. But if you want a good rating (and you will want one, if this game is going to appeal to you), you’ll need to shoot down as many enemies as possible.

That’s, perhaps, what makes the Panzer formula so addictive. For all of its beauty and dazzle, the gameplay is pretty simple. You destroy and you try to avoid dying. There are no pits to leap over, no puzzles to solve. Your goal is to shoot down as many enemies as possible. Orta is, essentially, a throwback to old school gaming when a game only took a few hours to pass, but the gameplay was so addictive that you played it again and again. Like Frogger, Ms. Pac-Man, Super Mario Bros., Contra, or the original Sonic, Panzer Dragoon Orta has an intangible extra that makes it worth playing again and again.

Old school gamers and fans of that brand of gameplay and feel will probably be able to enjoy Orta a bit more. Anyone who expects to get total control of a dragon, who wants to fly about like they’re playing Crimson Skies may be disappointed at first. This is a shooter on rails, not a dragon flight sim. It’s a fantastic game and as long as you go in knowing that the game is about multiple play-throughs, beating your own rankings, and enjoying a well-crafted world, then you should be able to enjoy and love Panzer Dragoon Orta.

Featured Game: House of the Dead III
“Actual gameplay is very engaging and a whole gaggle of fun. Immediately after entering the house, zombies, bats, and other creatures waste no time lunging at you with their claws. The heads-up-display is overly simplified and gives information like how many bullets you have left in your chamber and your current health. As you blast away at the screen, you need to continually “reload” your chamber by shooting off-screen. If you take a hit, your health meter goes down by one. You have a certain number of lives until you need to use a continue. You’ll have to keep an eye on how many continues are left, as they are limited too. When two players are playing, the game makes up for the easier difficulty by splitting the continues between the two players..

Branching paths depending on your shooting accuracy are more plentiful in HotDIII. The truth is very simply that the game is NOT very different from its predecessors. However, it is important to note some very important changes developer WOW Entertainment has implemented.

All right, I’ll admit it. I spent almost fifty dollars on HotD was in the arcades. The game is just TOO much fun. It really gives the sensation of an adrenaline rush as you play this game. The fast-paced combat and somewhat interesting story manage to keep your attention for the time until this game is over. Overall, an extremely exciting and fun (and sometimes homework push-offing) title from Sega rejuvenates the series with the fresh twists it needed. I recommend this game for any fan of the series or the genre alike—there is just too much nostalgia to pass up.”

First-Person & Third Person Shooters

Obvious Choices:
Halo, Half-Life 2, DOOM 3, Far Cry, Timesplitters etc

Featured Game: Metal Arms: Glitch in the System
“Metal Arms has a welcomed style and color to it. There are some genuinely funny lines in the cinematics, some of which are littered with unexpected, bleeped profanity. This character carries over into the play scenarios too. Glitch encounters robots that sell him weapons and gadgets along his quest and they’re always full of comic one-liners. After completing an intermediate level, Glitch seems proud of himself until his commander comments, “Let’s not break out the joy lube just yet.” Meanwhile, when the hero shoots at enemy droids they will run around as if on fire and scream in sheer terror. The delivery is well done. The game has many play elements to it, but the core revolves around fast and furious gunfights. Glitch can carry an impressive arsenal of different weapons from laser fire to automatics, shotguns and rockets, slingshots and grenades, sniper rifles and more, and all of them are entertaining and serve their purpose in battle. (He can also arm either hand with these weapons and use R and L to shoot/throw/sling them simultaneously, which just feels fantastic.) So Glitch explores the large, open 3D environments the game dishes out, enemies run out, and mini-wars ensue. And this is the meat and potatoes of the experience.

It’s solid and refreshingly fun. Each of the game’s 40 areas is presented with different goals and objectives in mind and there are a wide variety of scripted events that bring the sequences together. Glitch is usually accompanied by friendly droids in his infantry, who fight and die — in canned, but nonetheless dazzling routines — all around him. The geography of levels is saturated with realistic physics, semi-dynamic and constantly changing — it crumbles, explodes and can occasionally be blown apart by Glitch’s weapons. The world has a tangible layer of interactivity to it, which is a feat that few competing developers can claim to have also achieved. And because structures fall apart and explode as droids are blasted to bits and bombs erupting, the levels are convincingly intense.”