Electronic Gaming Monthly articles from June 2005

Electronic Gaming Monthly archives from June 2005

Spider-Man 2.(video games)(Product/Service Evaluation)
June 1, 2005... James: I'm gonna have to roll out the old "with great power comes great responsibility" cliche here and say that while the developers at Vicarious Visions used the PSP's great power to make some amazing cut-scenes, they kind of shirked their...

Charlie & the Chocolate Factory.(video games)(Brief Article)(Product/Service Evaluation)
June 1, 2005... PS2/XB/GC * 2K Games * July 2005 We Say: To go along with the release of Tim Burton's trippy film update, 2K Games readies the hottest candy-themed adventure since Skittles RPG Darkened Skye (GC). You'll play as Charlie, the lone...

Beat Down: Fists of Vengeance.(video games)(Brief Article)(Product/Service Evaluation)
June 1, 2005... PS2/XB * Capcom * Fall 2005 We Say: Just when you were sure old-school brawlers were history, Capcom attempts a revival with Beat Down. As Raven, former enforcer for a powerful crime family, you'll pummel your way through your...

The Suffering: Ties That Bind.(video games)(Brief Article)(Product/Service Evaluation)
June 1, 2005... PS2/XB * Midway * Fall 2005 We Say: Ties That Bind hopes to outgross its forerunner (both literally and figuratively) with even more gruesome horror action. This time, ex-con Torque will be roaming the mean streets of Baltimore as...

Marc Ecko's Getting Up: Contents Under Pressure.(video games)(Brief Article)(Product/Service Evaluation)
June 1, 2005... PS2 * Atari * September 2005 We Say: In Getting Up, players take on the role of Trane, a newbie graffiti artist trying to make his mark in a city where freedom of expression is just a myth. The game seems to be the love child of Grand...

Killer 7.(video games)(Brief Article)(Product/Service Evaluation)
June 1, 2005... PS2/GC * Capcom * June 2005 We Say: It's seven assassins named Smith versus an army of specters, but none of it is quite real...the seven killers are all splintered alter egos that a wheelchair-bound protagonist projects into the world...

From Russia With Love.(video games)(Brief Article)(Product/Service Evaluation)
June 1, 2005... PS2/XB/GC * EA Games * Fall 2005 We Say: Unlike Austin Powers, James Bond was never one for time travel. Then again, never say never. With Pierce Brosnan stepping down from the film role, the developers at EA looked into Bond's past for...

Spartan: Total Warrior.(video games)(Brief Article)(Product/Service Evaluation)
June 1, 2005... PS2/XB/GC * Sega * September 2005 We Say: PC vets know all about Rome: Total War, a robust strategy title that gave players tactical control over the vast Roman empire. Spartan: Total Warrior brings the series to consoles, but refocuses...

Show and Tell: Flatout.(video games)(Brief Article)(Product/Service Evaluation)
June 1, 2005... Publisher: VU Games Developer: Bugbear Release Date: June 2005 The Burnout series reminded us that racing games don't have to be complex lessons in adjusting gear ratios and tweaking suspensions, and FlatOut takes that concept a...

Preview 2005.(video games)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2005... So far, 2005 has been an abnormally robust year for gaming. If we were forced to pick a Game of the Year right now, it'd be a perilous choice between Resident Evil 4, God of War, and Splinter Cell Chaos Theory, and the year isn't even half...

50 Cent: Bulletproof.(video games)(Product/Service Evaluation)
June 1, 2005... PS2/XB * VU Games * Fall 2005 We Say: We've worn the costume and walked the dogs (G-Unit clothes and shoes), drunk the beverage (Formula 50), and watched the adults-only DVD (Groupie Love). Now, if the multiplatinum MC-cum-multimedia...

Samurai Western.(video games)(Brief Article)(Product/Service Evaluation)
June 1, 2005... PS2 * Atlus * June 2005 We Say: Atlus delivers an Old West-themed take on samurai slash-em-ups like Bujingai and Devil May Cry, and fortunately for a swordsman in a world of six guns, he has some fancy moves up his oversized sleeves. A...

Stubbs the Zombie.(video games)(Brief Article)(Product/Service Evaluation)
June 1, 2005... XB * Aspyr * Fall 2005 We Say: Alex Seropian, one of the guys behind Microsoft's flagship Halo franchise, chose to do something different with his new studio, Wideload Games: Stubbs the Zombie. Stubbs, a small-time salesman brutally...

50 Cent: the Interview.(Interview)
June 1, 2005... EGM: Tell me what you thought the first time you saw yourself as a videogame character. 50 Cent: The first time I saw myself in the videogame, I was really excited about it because it looks so much like me--it blew me away. The graphics...

Onimusha 4.(video games)(Product/Service Evaluation)
June 1, 2005... PS2 * Capcom * Winter 2005 We Say: Onimusha creator Keiji Inafune is a liar, plain and simple. During the development of Onimusha 3, the man behind Capcom's soul-sucking action series professed that the game would be the franchise...

Gauntlet: Seven Sorrows.(video games)(Brief Article)(Product/Service Evaluation)
June 1, 2005... PS2/XB * Midway * Fall 2005 We Say: An '80s arcade staple, Gauntlet returns with a fresh style (you fight the Incan empire) and reworked action-RPGs gameplay. You're not just hunting for keys anymore--deep character development,...

Castlevania: Curse of Darkness.(video games)(Brief Article)(Product/Service Evaluation)
June 1, 2005... PS2 * Konami * Fall 2005 We Say: Castlevania fans will finally get their 3D successor to revered PS1 hit Symphony of the Night. With tons of unique weapons, a complex world to explore, and nonlinear gameplay, Darkness will feel quite...

Batman Begins.(video games)(Brief Article)(Product/Service Evaluation)
June 1, 2005... PS2/XB/GC * EA Games * June 2005 We Say: "Batman is like Santa Claus or Abe Lincoln," says JT Petty, the writer behind the Batman Begins game. "He's become an American myth. I don't think disliking Batman is even an option." However,...

Without Warning.(video games)(Brief Article)(Product/Service Evaluation)
June 1, 2005... PS2/XB * Capcom * Fall 2005 We Say: Terrorists have taken over a chemical research plant, and the fate of millions now lies in the hands of six people trapped inside. Taking place over the course of a 12-hour period, Without Warning has...

The Incredible Hulk: Ultimate Destruction.(video games)(Brief Article)(Product/Service Evaluation)
June 1, 2005... PS2/XB/GC * VU Games * Fall 2005 We Say: Picture the Hulk, Marvel's freakishly strong, solid green mass of muscle, in a sandbox. Not a kiddie sandbox with playtime buckets and shovels--the guy needs a little more room. More like a few...

Stargate Sg-1: the Alliance.(video games)(Brief Article)(Product/Service Evaluation)
June 1, 2005... PS2/XB * TBA * Fall 2005 We Say: Alongside a squad of soldier-explorers (brought to life by the hit Sci-Fi Channel show's actors and self-sufficient A.I.), you'll trade bullets with the Haaken, "A1/4berbaddies the Ancients bottled up...

Burnout Revenge.(video games)(Product/Service Evaluation)
June 1, 2005... PS2/XB * EA Games * Fall 2005 We Say: Burnout 3 wooed racing fanatics and casual reckless drivers alike with its blinding sense of speed and mesmerizing crashes, but polishing that gem took a few years of development. Is this speedy...

L.A. Rush.(video games)(Brief Article)(Product/Service Evaluation)
June 1, 2005... PS2/XB * Midway * Fall 2005 We Say: This new Rush drives into SoCal offering a much more open-ended experience than the arcade Rush classics. It takes a page from mission-based games such as Driver, tasking you with recovering stolen...

Call of Duty: Big Red One.(video games)(Product/Service Evaluation)
June 1, 2005... PS2/XB/GC * Activision * Fall 2005 We Say: Fresh off its victory in the '04 military shooter marketplace, Call of Duty regroups for a second strike against EA's ailing Medal of Honor series. And from what we've seen...it's likely to win...

Delta Force: Black Hawk Down.(video games)(Brief Article)(Product/Service Evaluation)
June 1, 2005... PS2/XB * NovaLogic * Summer 2005 We Say: Sick of all the WWII and Vietnam shooters? Us too. Try this: Delta Force delivers team-based raids against Somali warlords in and around Mogadishu in 1993. Forget single-player, it's all about...

Medal of Honor: European Assault.(video games)(Product/Service Evaluation)
June 1, 2005... PS2/XB/GC * EA Games * June 2005 We Say: Don't call it bullet time. The supersoldiering you'll perform in WWII shooter Medal of Honor: European Assault is based on bona fide accounts from actual vets. Or so says Executive Producer Dan...

Star Wars Battlefront.(video games)(Brief Article)(Product/Service Evaluation)
June 1, 2005... PS2/XB * LucasArts * Fall 2005 We Say: This follow-up to last fall's multiplayer shooting hit takes the combat in a new direction--skyward. You'll fly over 30 craft in massive interstellar battles, including the classic Rebel...

Soul Calibur Iii.(video games)(Product/Service Evaluation)
June 1, 2005... PS2 * Namco * Fall 2005 We Say: Fighting-game faithfuls who still can't stomach Namco's decision to make Soul Calibur III a PlayStation 2 exclusive will have to come to terms with this bracing reality: Sony specifically engineered the...

Makai Kingdom.(video games)(Brief Article)(Product/Service Evaluation)
June 1, 2005... PS2 * NIS America * July 2005 We Say: Similar in tone to NIS' cult-hit tactical RPG Disgaea, though not directly related, Kingdom puts you in control of Lord Zetta, the king of the netherworld who's accidentally destroyed his kingdom and...

Marvel Nemesis: Rise of the Imperfects.(video games)(Product/Service Evaluation)
June 1, 2005... PS2/XB/GC/PSP * EA Games * Fall 2005 We Say: Capcom's Marvel vs. Capcom series proved that the classic comic-book crossover concept works just as well in game form: Having X-Men's Storm catfight with Resident Evil 2's Jill Valentine...

Dragon Quest Viii.(video games)(Brief Article)(Product/Service Evaluation)
June 1, 2005... PS2 * Square Enix * Fall 2005 We Say: This legendary Japanese role-playing series, not seen on these shores since part VII (PS1) four years ago, returns to America in high style with this epic eighth installment. With whimsical,...

Its a Secret to Everybody.(video games; Eiji Aonuma)(Interview)
June 1, 2005... Eiji Aonuma is an expert at keeping secrets. And he's very sorry about that. First the Nintendo producer kept his lips zipped about the look of his upcoming GameCube project. After insisting to EGM only months earlier that the next Zelda...

Area 51.(video games)(Product/Service Evaluation)
June 1, 2005... Crispin: Don't come to Area 51 expecting one giant leap for shooterkind. You've blasted run-amok mutants like these before. You've believed in little gray aliens for years. You've heard David Duchovny's one-pitch voice drone on about secret...

Midnight Club 3: Dub Edition.(video games)(Product/Service Evaluation)
June 1, 2005... Demian: If you played the last Midnight Club, I bet you came across at least one street race that was so damn hard, your controller went airborne. DUB's not like that. You won't win many races on your first try (there's always a tricky...

Dead to Rights II.(video games)(Product/Service Evaluation)
June 1, 2005... G. Ford: Dead to Rights II gets the expected sequel tweaks (improved graphics, no more so-so minigames), but when a game built on nonstop action--as in, you don't even have to stop and reload your guns--turns out to be an 11-plus-hour...

Enthusia: Professional Racing.(video games)(Product/Service Evaluation)
June 1, 2005... Andrew: There's a stark difference between a racing game and a driving game. Enthusia is the latter--a game focused on precision and technical skill, where "realistic" is a more marketable way of saying "unforgiving." But if you know...

Haunting Ground.(video games)(Product/Service Evaluation)
June 1, 2005... Shoe: Tamagotchi...Titanic...Olsen twins with reasonable amounts of makeup on their faces.... Sorry--I'm just having one helluva 1990s flashback from playing Haunting Ground. Running away from tireless creeps while wandering about a...

Cold Winter.(video games)(Product/Service Evaluation)
June 1, 2005... Shawn: Never mind Cold Winter's purportedly true-to-life take on "dirty espionage" (as opposed to 007's suit-tie-and-martini suave); it too ends in a chromed-out, black-science bunker beneath the earth. What the game does that shoot-em-ups...

Jade Empire.(video games)(Product/Service Evaluation)
June 1, 2005... Jennifer: BioWare has done it again. These masters of the role-playing genre wowed us with the brilliant Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic. I wasn't convinced they could do it again, especially without an established franchise to sustain...

Pariah.(video games)(Product/Service Evaluation)
June 1, 2005... Shawn: It's not the postcard-from-another-planet panorama--badlands, towering forests, and industrial inventions--fog-free as far as the eye can see. It's not even how the glass faceplate on the first guy I shoot shatters like a fishbowl...

Close Combat: First to Fight.(video games)(Product/Service Evaluation)
June 1, 2005... Crispin: First to Fight technically packs everything you need to play soldier (in this case, a U.S. Marine). It has decent-looking urban war zones, an easy-to-use squad interface, and lots of intense firefights. Thing is, the game is such a...

WWE Wrestlemania 21.(video games)(Product/Service Evaluation)
June 1, 2005... Greg S: Pro wrestling games have become much like the WWE itself--boring and predictable. No matter how many different developers take a shot at the WWE license, the games come out feeling like the same sluggish button mashers we've been...

Pac-Pix.(video games)(Product/Service Evaluation)
June 1, 2005... G. Ford: Now this is more like it. Pac-Pix is a genuinely fun game that makes clever use of the DS' touch screen. In order to clear each level of ghosts in this action-puzzler, you have to put your doodling skills to use as you quickly try to...

Tony Hawk's Underground 2 Remix.(video games)(Product/Service Evaluation)
June 1, 2005... James: I survived the World Destruction Tour on the Xbox, but I was willing to relive the pigeons dumping on bikini girls, gurney races, and Ben Franklin doing a Natas spin all over again on PSP. And I'm glad I did, because Remix spit-shines...

Wipeout Pure.(video games)(Product/Service Evaluation)
June 1, 2005... Shawn: The twisted-ribbon tracks, the roller-coaster altitude changes, the design-college cool--that I get, that I've done before. Riding one of Wipeout's shark-nosed rockets through an eye-tickling technopolis took me back to the series' PS1...

Twisted Metal: Head-On.(video games)(Product/Service Evaluation)
June 1, 2005... Robert: You know that kid, the one who always played by himself at recess, crashing Hot Wheels cars into each other? Well, this game is what he imagined, a demolition derby clattering with the sounds of machine-gun fire and industrial...

Reviews Wrap-Up.(Product/Service Evaluation)
June 1, 2005... Four for $20: Attack of the Budget A pair of war games, some old - time survival - horror, and drug abuse on the cheap Super Army War * GBA * Atlas * ESRB: T -- While we can't say you'll get more enjoyment out of Super Army War than...