Electronic Gaming Monthly articles from July 2005

Electronic Gaming Monthly archives from July 2005

Quake 4.(electronic games)(Product/Service Evaluation)
July 1, 2005... Publisher: Activision Developer: Id/Raven Release Date: Fall 2005 The Basics: No monster closets here: Scope that strogg harvester, a long-legged parts processor prowling for scraps, meat, and metal alike. "The strogg are the...

Call of Duty 2.(electronic games)(Product/Service Evaluation)
July 1, 2005... Publisher: Activision Developer: Infinity Ward Release Date: Fall 2005 The Basics: For all its ear-stabbing commotion and substantial explosions, WWII shooter Call of Duty (PC) is too quiet. Or so say military advisors Capt....

Condemned: Criminal Origins.(electronic games)(Product/Service Evaluation)
July 1, 2005... Publisher: Sega Developer: Monolith Release Date: November 2005 The Facts: Playfully splicing together genres to engineer an original next-gen hybrid, Condemned christens itself a "first-person psychological thriller." What does...

The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion.(electronic games)(Brief Article)(Product/Service Evaluation)
July 1, 2005... Publisher: Bethesda/2K Games Developer: Bethesda Release Date: Fall 2005 The Basics: Hardcore roleplayers love Oblivion predecessor Morrowind for its open-ended world and deeply customizable gameplay. Now they'll get to return...

Kameo: Elements of Power.(electronic games)(Brief Article)(Product/Service Evaluation)
July 1, 2005... Publisher: Microsoft Developer: Rare Release Date: Fall 2005 The Basics: Kameo the fairy collects the souls of powerful elemental warriors and uses their abilities to bash, sneak, battle, and puzzle her way through a world of...

99 Nights.(electronic games)(Brief Article)(Product/Service Evaluation)
July 1, 2005... Publisher: Microsoft Developer: Q!/Phantagram Release Date: Fall 2005 The Basics: Concrete details on this title currently redefine "sketchy." Seriously, we don't have much to go on, other than this impressive screenshot. We...

Test Drive Unlimited.(electronic games)(Brief Article)(Product/Service Evaluation)
July 1, 2005... Publisher: Atari Developer: Eden Games Release Date: Fall 2005 The Basics: Remember the last Test Drive game, Eve of Destruction, the one about toothless rednecks racing around dirt tracks? Thankfully, this one isn't like that....

Too Human.(electronic games)(Brief Article)(Product/Service Evaluation)
July 1, 2005... Publisher: Microsoft Developer: Silicon Knights Release Date: Fall 2006 The Basics: This slash-and-shoot action game has already been dubbed "the Xbox 360's God of War" by its handlers...and it's still nearly two years away....

Ghost Recon 3.(electronic games)(Brief Article)(Product/Service Evaluation)
July 1, 2005... Publisher: Ubisoft Developer: Ubisoft/Red Storm Release Date: Fall 2005 ALSO ON: PS2/XB/GC The Basics: Van Damme disaster Universal Soldier wasn't so dippy after all. Future Force Warrior, an actual Army initiative,...

Peter Jackson's King Kong.(electronic games)(Brief Article)(Product/Service Evaluation)
July 1, 2005... The Basics: Piecing together any coherent information about Ubisoft's upcoming adventure based on Peter Jackson's (the director behind the Lord of the Rings trilogy) 800-ton box office gorilla isn't easy--the flick doesn't drop until...

NBA Live 2006.(electronic games)(Brief Article)(Product/Service Evaluation)
July 1, 2005... Publisher: EA Sports Developer: EA Canada Release Date: Fall 2005 The Basics: EA isn't ready to tell us its game plan for NBA Live 2006, but if you go by the last few iterations, expect some more refinements to its freestyle...

Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2006.(electronic games)(Brief Article)(Product/Service Evaluation)
July 1, 2005... Publisher: EA Sports Developer: EA Redwood Shores Release Date: Fall 2005 The Basics: Like most of the sports titles mentioned on these pages, the development team isn't giving up the goods on Tiger's upcoming feature set. All...

Top Spin 2K6.(electronic games)(Brief Article)(Product/Service Evaluation)
July 1, 2005... Publisher: 2K Sports Developer: Indie Built Release Date: Fall 2005 The Basics: Oh-so-simple controls, silky smooth player animations, and a gigantic career mode made this formerly Microsoft-owned tennis series the only real gem...

NBA 2K6.(electronic games)(Brief Article)(Product/Service Evaluation)
July 1, 2005... Publisher: 2K Sports Developer: 2K Sports Release Date: Fall 2005 The Basics: Like EA, 2K Sports is keeping most of this year's b-ball features in its jockstrap for the time being. We do know, however, that NBA 2K6 will have a...

First Look: Black.(electronic games)(Product/Service Evaluation)
July 1, 2005... PS2/XB Publisher: EA Games Developer: Criterion Games Release Date: February 2006 Criterion, the Brits behind car-crunching classic Burnout, are addicted to danger. "If we stand for anything," admits Producer Jeremy Chubb,...

Online This Month.(electronic games)
July 1, 2005... If anything has become apparent to Square Enix in the past 18 months, it's that gamers love their Final Fantasy XI. This titanic massively multiplayer online role-playing game for PS2 (and PC--remember, the two sides can play together) is...

Kingdom Hearts II.(electronic games)(Brief Article)(Product/Service Evaluation)
July 1, 2005... PlayStation 2 Publisher: Square Enix Developer: Square Enix Release Date: Winter 2005 Square Enix just loves teasing us. The publisher has provided yet another quick glimpse--via a new batch of screenshots--at Kingdom Hearts...

Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas.(electronic games)(Product/Service Evaluation)
July 1, 2005... Xbox Publisher: Rockstar Developer: Rockstar North Release Date: June 2005 America's Bloodiest Home Videos Ride a bike up a wall and back flip it onto its wheels, pilot a plane beneath the Gant Bridge, slay a ganglord...

Final Fantasy XII.(electronic games)(Brief Article)(Product/Service Evaluation)
July 1, 2005... PlayStation 2 Publisher: Square Enix Developer: Square Enix Release Date: Fall 2005 It's been 12 long and painful months since Square Enix last released any new screens or information about Final Fantasy XII, the latest PS2...

We Love Katamari.(electronic games)(Product/Service Evaluation)
July 1, 2005... PlayStation 2 Publisher: Namco Developer: Namco Release Date: Fall 2005 Readers beware: We've enlisted Katamari Damacy's stoic ruler, the King of All Cosmos, to reveal details about We Love Katamari, his (truthfully titled)...

Show and Tell: Prince of Persia 3.(electronic games)(Brief Article)(Product/Service Evaluation)
July 1, 2005... PS2/XB/GC Publisher: Ubisoft Developer: Ubisoft Release Date: Fall 2005 Stand down, opposing camps in the Prince of Persia style war. With this third chapter, developer Ubisoft aims to simultaneously please fans of 2003's...

A Full Revolution.(electronic games)
July 1, 2005... "We will have the most powerful platform," says Chief Xbox Officer Robbie Bach. "The Xbox 360 will be the Porsche of videogaming." Bold words from a console maker who less than four years ago was struggling to prove that its hulk-sized Xbox...

Perfect Dark Zero.(Duncan Botwood)(Interview)
July 1, 2005... Halfway up his forehead, Senior Designer Duncan Botwood traces a line. "My hairline used to be here," he says flatly. What's he have to worry about? Maybe it's the stress of making a new multimillion-dollar first-person shooter,...

Xbox 360: the Games.(electronic games)(Product/Service Evaluation)
July 1, 2005... Expectations can be a real bitch. In your mind, you possess an ideal of what "next-gen" games should look like, but whether or not the first Xbox 360 games live up to that theoretical concept...well, that's kind of subjective. But since we're...

Need for Speed: Most Wanted.(electronic games)(Brief Article)(Product/Service Evaluation)
July 1, 2005... Publisher: EA Games Developer: EA Canada Release Date: Fall 2005 The Basics: Most Wanted pinches the open city and deep car customization of the best-selling Need for Speed: Underground series, adds the smokeys-and-bandits cop...

Tony Hawk's American Wasteland.(electronic games)(Product/Service Evaluation)
July 1, 2005... Publisher: Activision Developer: Neversoft Release date: Fall 2005 The Basics: This newest evolution in Activision's long-running grindathon takes a slightly more realistic route, transporting you to the birthplace of the...

Madden NFL 2006.(electronic games)(Brief Article)(Product/Service Evaluation)
July 1, 2005... Publisher: EA Sports Developer: EA Tiburon Release Date: Fall 2005 The Basics: It just wouldn't be a true hardware launch without a new edition of Johnny Ballgame's colossal football franchise. While the overall feature set may...

Juiced.(electronic games)(Product/Service Evaluation)
July 1, 2005... Demian: If this all looks strangely familiar, kind of like, oh, page 136 of EGM #184, that's because we've already reviewed this street racer. But before Juiced actually made it to store shelves, then-publisher Acclaim bit the dust. THQ...

Predator: Concrete Jungle.(electronic games)(Product/Service Evaluation)
July 1, 2005... Good: Creative alternative-combat ideas spice up the fighting Bad: Looks worse than some PS2 launch titles The Moral: If an alien ship lands, don't steal nothin' from it Jon D: Props to Concrete Jungle for trying something...

Atelier Iris: Eternal Mana.(electronic games)(Product/Service Evaluation)
July 1, 2005... Good: Involving, well paced, fast and intuitive combat Bad: Still has those damn random battles Rated T: For consumption of made-up alcoholic beverages Justin: To all you jaded, battle-weary role-playing gamers out there: Have...

In the Groove.(electronic games)(Product/Service Evaluation)
July 1, 2005... Good: Highly customizable routines Bad: Music for cheesy techno fans only Why Should: Dance Dance Revolution have all the fun? Jennifer: I get what they're trying to do with In the Groove. The hardcore already know this Dance...

Samurai Western.(electronic games)(Product/Service Evaluation)
July 1, 2005... Good: Lotsa unlockable characters and costumes Bad: Rote, repetitive hack-n-slash Try Instead: Onimusha 3 Shawn: East meets West, swords square off against six-shooters at Shanghai noon...there's bad and there's ugly, but I'm...

Forza Motorsport.(electronic games)(Product/Service Evaluation)
July 1, 2005... Demian: Better than Gran Turismo 4. I figured I'd write that when I reviewed Gran Turismo 5 one day, but this is Forza Motorsport, Microsoft's homage to the greatest driving sim around. Except the student has already lapped the teacher,...

Pokemon Emerald.(electronic games)(Product/Service Evaluation)
July 1, 2005... Good: Best Pokemon yet for GBA Bad: The rehashiest rehash ever rehashed License to Print Money: Originally granted to Nintendo in 1996 Christian: Only having dabbled in Pokemon before, I wasn't sure it could hook me. But it...

Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith.(electronic games)(Product/Service Evaluation)
July 1, 2005... Good: Cool lightsaber battles, nifty flying levels Bad: Blah side-scrolling gameplay Good for Almost Nothin': The touch screen Crispin: A long time ago is right. Revenge of the Sith looks and plays like a licensed title from 15...

Fire Emblem: the Sacred Stones.(electronic games)(Product/Service Evaluation)
July 1, 2005... Good: Excellent strategic combat, three difficulty levels Bad: Not much different or new Basically: More of what made the first Emblem great Mark: There are two ways to approach a boss in Fire Emblem: send in your strongest...

Nba Street Showdown.(electronic games)(Product/Service Evaluation)
July 1, 2005... Good: Simple to play, robust solo mode Bad: Old-style gameplay, worthless minigames Should've Been Called: NBA Street Vol. 2: Redux Bryan: "Streetball reinvented for the PSP" it says on the back of the game's box. Color me...

Rengoku: the Tower of Purgatory.(electronic games)(Product/Service Evaluation)
July 1, 2005... Good: Customize and build up your own robot! Bad:...so it can fight the same bland battles over and over Forgettable: Lackluster multiplayer modes Mark: One of Halo's designers once said that a great game is actually the same 15...

Smartbomb.(electronic games)(Product/Service Evaluation)
July 1, 2005... Good: Peppy music, occasionally fun puzzles Bad: Dippy story, plentiful obnoxious puzzles Potential Lawsuit: Obvious Minesweeper rip-off Shane: Smartbomb dares to try a different approach to the venerable portable puzzle genre by...

Hot Shots Golf: Open Tee.(electronic games)(Product/Service Evaluation)
July 1, 2005... Crispin: Fans of the Hot Shots series on the PlayStation and PS2 know exactly what to expect from Open Tee. The simple, tap-a-button swing meter remains unchanged, as does the look of the supercutesy golfers and their caddies. In fact, if...

Reviews Wrap-Up.(electronic games)(Brief Article)(Product/Service Evaluation)
July 1, 2005... Mega Man Battle Network 5: Team Colonel/Team Protoman * GBA * Capcom * ESRB: E -- A classic gaming icon in an adventure about computer hacking, card collecting, and jargon-smothered cyber-dungeon crawling...could Network be any geekier? ...