Electronic Gaming Monthly articles from April 2006

Electronic Gaming Monthly archives from April 2006

The Big ?'s.(Sony Playstation 3)(Nintendo Revolution)(Microsoft Xbox 360)(Product/service evaluation)
April 1, 2006... Playstation 3 Graphically, will PS3 games live up to the hype? According to several developers we spoke to, creating PS3 software that looks as freakishly good as the Metal Gear Solid 4 trailer is definitely possible, but it won't...

Splinter Cell Double Agent.(Namco Bandai)(Product/service evaluation)
April 1, 2006... Am Fisher is so over those glowing green goggles. Sure, they got confiscated when he landed in jail on the undercover mission that starts out his new game, so he'd better be able to get by without them. But a true superspy like Fisher doesn't...

Tekken: Dark Resurrection.(Namco Bandai Games)(Product/service evaluation)(Brief article)
April 1, 2006... In years past, gamers knew better than to expect top-quality ports of arcade fighters on handheld systems. Spend five minutes with the deplorable Tekken Advance (GBA) and you'll see why--cramming Namco's crowd-pleasing 3D fighter onto an...

Dirge of Cerberus: Final Fantasy VII.(Square Enix )(Product/service evaluation)
April 1, 2006... First-person shooters are about as popular in Japan as horse-racing simulators are in America. The genre, for whatever mysterious reason, has just never caught on. But then again, we can remember a time when RPGs weren't popular in America,...

John Woo's Stranglehold.(Midway)(Product/service evaluation)
April 1, 2006... Peter Jackson, James Cameron, Steven Spielberg--these days, it seems like every Hollywood director needs to scratch that videogame itch. And at this rate, it's only a matter of time until that German hack Uwe Boll (BloodRayne movie) announces...

Let There Be Lite.(Nintendo Company Ltd.)(Brief article)
April 1, 2006... The DS may have the best crop of portable games these days, but let's face it--this thing wouldn't win any beauty contests (especially when matched up against Sony's slick-looking PSP). Thankfully, Nintendo will give its dual-screen handheld...

Virtua Fighter 5.(Sega Enterprises Ltd.)(Product/service evaluation)
April 1, 2006... Sega's Virtua Fighter stands proudly as the wizened grandpappy of the 3D fighting scene. Sure, it's not most accessible series in town, but hardcore players swear by its lifelike martial arts moves and shockingly deep gameplay. In fact, EGM...

We Got Served.
April 1, 2006... I'm lounging poolside at the Viceroy Hotel, sipping bourbon on the rocks while the sun sets on Santa Monica, CA. From behind the screen of a hotel-loaned PlayStation Portable, I scope out the throng of Hollywood hipsters squeezed onto couches...

X-Men 3.(Activision Inc.)(Product/service evaluation)
April 1, 2006... One week before X-Men: The Last Stand--the third (and reportedly final) big-screen adaptation of Marvel's hit comic series--lands in theaters, true believers will want to get up to speed with Activision's X-Men 3 (working title), an action...

Stuntman 2.(Atari Corp.)(Product/service evaluation)
April 1, 2006... More than just the T-boned _virtual cars got totaled when wreckless-driving simulator Stuntman hit the PlayStation 2 back in 2002. The maddeningly unforgiving gameplay had players smithereening so many joypads, we're surprised activists...

Operation Desert Storm.(GMX Media)(Product/service evaluation)
April 1, 2006... Let's face it: If we were terrorists--sick to death of capitalism, Celine Dion, and the American Wayacents--Las Vegas would be the obvious first stop on our whirlwind North American tour.L It's a city characterized by waste, excess, sin, and...

Fight Night Round 3.(Electronic Arts Inc. EA Sports)(Product/service evaluation)
April 1, 2006... Robert C: How much do I love this pugilist? Enough that my controller is coated with the eraser-like rubber dust my blistering thumbs scrubbed from the analog sticks. I can't stop playing. I'll get the bad stuff out of the way first....

Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter.(Ubisoft)(Product/service evaluation)
April 1, 2006... Shoe: I hit the gritty, sun-baked streets of Mexico City with my three squadmates. Everything's eerily quiet--no traffic, no civilians, not even a squeak from some distant relative of Speedy Gonzalez. A recent military coup has everyone...

Marc Ecko's Getting Up: Contents Under Pressure.(Atari Corp.)(Product/service evaluation)
April 1, 2006... Good: Star-studded art and music direction, which... Bad:...attempts to mask the crapitude of everything underneath Faux Pas: Getting Up's cops look like Darth Vader crossing guards Robert A: Clothing designers exist to dress up...

Black.(Electronic Arts Inc. EA Games)(Product/service evaluation)
April 1, 2006... Demian: Black is gun porn. I've shot a grand total of one firearm in my life, an MP5...and firing an MP5 in Black is altogether more exciting, violent, and visceral than the real deal. Divots pop up from the dirt, wood splinters and...

Full Spectrum Warrior: Ten Hammers.(THQ)(Product/service evaluation)
April 1, 2006... Good: Play through in co-op, blame the other guy when you fail Bad: Wonky rules of engagement, idiot squaddies It's No: Brothers in Arms Demian: Bravo team storms the upstairs of some forsaken tenement, but my boys don't even...

Sonic Riders.(Sega Enterprises Ltd.)(Product/service evaluation)
April 1, 2006... Good: Not just another Mario Kart clone Bad: Limited interactivity, emphasis on shortcuts over skill Baditude: Sonic's dated, grating personality. Time for a change Robert A: Sonic and his ever-growing entourage of...

Final Fight: Streetwise.(Capcom Company Ltd.)(Product/service evaluation)
April 1, 2006... Good: Competent brawling, interesting minigames Bad: Action gets rote; save system is crappy Always Appreciated: Unlockable original game G. Ford: A few months back--trudging through Beat Down and Urban Reign--I thumbed my broken...

Metal Gear Solid 3: Subsistence.(KONAMI Corp.)(Product/service evaluation)
April 1, 2006... Shane: Over the past year and a half, I've had more heated arguments about MGS3 than any other game ever. And these aren't just friendly disagreements; around here, we debate Splinter Cell-versus-MGS the way normal people tackle religion and...

24: the Game.(2K Games)(Product/service evaluation)
April 1, 2006... Good: Incredibly faithful to the killer show Bad: Escort missions; gunplay gets old after a while Jack Bauer Fun Facts: notrly.com/jackbauer/index.php?topsixty Crispin: Solid Snake and Sam Fisher? P***ies. At least compared to...

Mlb 06: the Show.(Sony CEA)(Product/service evaluation)
April 1, 2006... Good: Great animations, Rivalry mode, solid fundamentals Bad: Another day at the same ol' ballpark, no analog swinging Props: For finally getting the year right G. Ford: Last season, MLB had a good enough showing to offer a solid...

State of Emergency 2.(SouthPeak Interactive L.L.C.)(Product/service evaluation)
April 1, 2006... Good: Bullets and blood flow freely; chaotic onscreen action Bad: Feels like a generic shooter Like: Smash TV meets a crazed antigovernment website Justin: Some loved it, most hated it, but State of Emergency had ideas. It made...

Shadow Hearts: From the New World.(Xseed)(Product/service evaluation)
April 1, 2006... Good: Fantastic timing-based battle system Bad: Relatively short quest Best Character: Frank the Ninja Greg S: Shadow Hearts' story takes more left turns than a race car in the Daytona 500. Its playable characters range from...

Beatmania.(KONAMI Corp.)(Product/service evaluation)
April 1, 2006... Good: Serious, possibly dangerous rhythm gaming Bad: Controller requires as much practice as a real instrument Cheesy: Faux Burt Bacharach tune, "Love So Groovy" Robert A: Just as my fingertips had begun to heal from Guitar Hero...

CMT Presents.(KONAMI Corp.)(Product/service evaluation)
April 1, 2006... Good: It's all country Bad: See above Breakin' Our Achy Heart: Only two unlockable songs Jennifer: I always hoped that Karaoke Revolution would produce genre-specific spin-offs, but I never predicted the hoedown variety would be...

Onimusha: Dawn of Dreams.(Capcom Company Ltd.)(Product/service evaluation)
April 1, 2006... Good: One of the prettiest PS2 games to date Bad: Ridiculously weak A.I. partners Unlock: Costumes from Street Fighter's closet Bryan: When I first saw the French-infused Onimusha 3: Demon Siege, I remember developer Keiji...

Resident Evil: Deadly Silence.(Product/service evaluation)
April 1, 2006... Shane: It's time to ask yourself whether you really need to play through Resident Evil again. Sure, the game's a modern classic that helped birth the whole survival-horror genre, but if you want the consummate RE experience, tackle the lushly...

Pokemon Trozei!(Product/service evaluation)
April 1, 2006... Good: Simple, somewhat fun puzzling Bad: Simple, somewhat boring puzzling Why Is Only: The European version called Pokemon Link!? Jennifer: I give props to those who try, but it ain't easy to design an innovative and addictive...

The Rub Rabbits!(Product/service evaluation)
April 1, 2006... Good: More minigames than in Feel the Magic Bad: Spoils its own surprises Nothing to It: In the wrong way Shawn: Little wonder that a game called Where Do Babies Come From? in the place of its birth (Japan) is about getting by...

Super Monkey Ball: Touch & Roll.(Product/service evaluation)
April 1, 2006... Robert A: Portable Monkey Ball is a dangerous thing. I mean, if I were sitting on a bus bench rolling my monkey-in-a-ball down a narrow stretch, and the guy next to me bumped into my stylus arm, knocking my cute little monkey into the abyss,...

Metal Gear Ac!D 2.(Product/service evaluation)
April 1, 2006... Shane: I wasn't terribly pleased with the first Metal Gear Ac!d. Though it combined two things I adore--Metal Gear Solid and card-based tactical roleplaying--the finished product was as fun as an algebra exam. MGA2 rights things by revamping...

Pursuit Force.(Product/service evaluation)
April 1, 2006... Good: Huge selection of cars... Bad:...that are rotten to control Not as Macho as: Jon from CHiPs Kathleen: Apparently, someone out there was itching for a game that combines the witless banality of Jake and the Fat Man with the...

Untold Legends: The Warrior's Code.(Product/service evaluation)
April 1, 2006... Good: Customization, graphics, load times Bad: Brimming with tired-ass RPG cliches PSP's Analog Control: Hand Cramp Summoning +10 Kathleen: What you got yourself here is a very competent hack-n-slash roleplayer packed with...

Tales of Phantasia.(Product/service evaluation)
April 1, 2006... Good: Classic game, fun battles Bad: "Classic" sometimes means "archaic" Don't Like It? Try Tales of Symphonia or Legendia instead Nich: Like the handheld version of Final Fantasy IV, what we've got here is an upgraded Super NES...

Reviews Wrap-Up.(Kingdom Hearts II)(College Hoops 2K6)(FIFA Street 2)(Ys: The Ark of Napishtim)(On the Road Again)(Tokyo Xtreme Racer Drift)(Product/service evaluation)
April 1, 2006... Kingdom Hearts II PS2 * Square Enix * ESRB: E10+ Few pairings are more head-scratching than Disney and Final Fantasy, but it sure as hell works in videogames. And after playing through the Japanese KH2 and roughly 10 hours of the...