Review: "Sly 2: Band of Thieves" (PS2)

Information

Title

Sly 2: Band of Thieves

Published by

Sony Computer Entertainment America

Developed by

Sucker Punch

Platform

Playstation 2

Rating

E for Cartoon Violence

Genre

Stealth/Platformer/Heist

Plot

Sly and the gang are back to steal the Clockwerk pieces from the various members of the Klaw gang.

High Point

The free-roaming environments and more active part of the rest of the gang.

Low Point

There is one mission that is particularly hard, specially compared to the rest of the game.

Context

I played and beat this game before I completed the original, but decided to go back and beat the original in order to better write this review.

Scores

Story — Funny (7/10)

This is an amusing story and I do love a good caper tale. It builds well on the the story from the first game, while taking it in a totally new direction.

Originality — Somewhat 5(/10)

Being a sequel, it loses some points in originality, but it does expand the feel of the original and allows the play of the whole gang, which adds a whole new flavor to the party.

Graphics — Cell-Shaded Beauty (8/10)

This game truly captures the feel of a cartoon/comic in it's look all the way down to flying onomatopoeia a lá Adam West's Batman.

Production — Solid (10/10)

Everything fits together in this game, making it a really immersive world where you easily slip into the thieving raccoon vibe.

Difficulty — Challenging (7/10)

With the exception of the mission mentioned above, I was well challenged but not frustrated by the game (a perfect difficulty for me).

Violence — Cartoony (3/10)

This game is a cartoon and as such utilizes very cartoon oriented violence. Bad guys simply disappear when defeated, there is no blood whatsoever and there are even circling stars for characters when they're stunned.

Overall — Excellent (9/10)

I am eagerly awaiting Sly 3 and foresee a long career for our raccoon friend.

Review: "Sly Cooper and the Thevius Racoonus" (PS2)

Information

Title

Sly Cooper and the Thevius Racoonus

Published by

Sony Computer Entertainment America

Developed by

Sucker Punch

Platform

Playstation 2

Rating

E for mild violence

Genre

Stealth/Platformer

Plot

Sly Cooper and his gang are trying to recover the stolen pages of the Thevius Racoonus, an heirloom of Sly's family for many generations.

High Point

You run around and steal stuff, sneakily.

Low Point

A bit hard and repetative, suffering from some of the earlier platform game problems (fixed number of hits 'til you die).

Context

I actually beat the sequel to this first, though I started playing this when it first came out. I decided to go back and finish this so as to better compare the sequel.

Scores

Story — Basic (4/10)

The plot isn't really a big issue in this game, I was able to come back to the game after a yea of not playing it and not miss a beat. The plot really serves as motivation for the capers, but doesn't extend beyond that.

Originality — Splendid (8/10)

A new direction for the platform genre to go in and a new take on the stealth game. I can't think of too many games where you play the thief.

Graphics — Cartoony Goodness (8/10)

The game uses cell-shaded graphics with cartoon-ish characters to create a wonderful cartoon feel. In addition, the cut-scenes are just barely animated like you could easily achieve with Flash animation, though this simply adds to them, rather than detract.

Production — Good (7/10)

Everything seemed wel polished, though the check-points were a bit on the frustrating side during at least one boss battle. I'm not sure why they had lives since you could always continue after you ran out.

Difficulty — Medium-Hard (7/10)

Mostly easy yet chllenging, but there were a few spots that were more difficult.

Violence — Cartoon (2/10)

No more violent than Super Mario Bros. was.

Overall — Sneaky Fun (7/10)

I really enjoyed sneaking around stealing things. I think it's more fun than most stealth games aas they try to be too serious.

Review: "Star Wars - Episode III: Revenge of the Sith" (PS2)

Information

Title

Star Wars - Episode III: Revenge of the Sith

Published by

LucasArts

Developed by

The Collective

Platform

Playstation 2

Rating

T for Violence

Genre

Action Platformer

Plot

Play as Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi during the events portrayed in the movie of the same name.

High Point

The alternate ending where Anakin defeats Obi-Wan and the Emperor and takes control of the galaxy.

Low Point

A little mechanical and obvious in it's nature as a game.

Context

I am a huge Star Wars fan and will buy most any game thus branded, especially if it offers a sneak peak at the new movie. I played, and beat this game before "Revenge of the Sith" came out in theaters.

Scores

Story — Medium (5/10)

The story mostly consists of those parts of the film that segue from one battle scene to another.

Originality — Fair (5/10)

This is a video game based on a prequel movie in a long-running, ad much beloved, series. Considering all that, the game does take several liberties with the plot of said movie in order to further the purpose of the game, fighting off numerous waves of enemies.

Graphics — Shiny (8/10)

The graphics are on par with the current generation of games. The lightsabers are very nice looking and the characters look like their movie counterparts.

Music — Excellent (9/10)

The music is the same as that in the movies and really help s to create the authentic Star Wars feel.

Audio — Fair (6/10)

The voice-acting is good, but the voices are those from the Clone Wars cartoon rather than the movies, so the characters are slighly off. The dialog get a little repetitive during combat as it's evident that there is only a limited set of phrases to pull from.

Production — Good (8/10)

The game is well assembled and doesn't show any rough edges and the inclusion of footage from the film is a nice touch for some of the cutscenes.

Difficulty — Medium (5/10)

I only really had trouble at two points in the game, fairly early where I haden't upped my characters stats enough, and at the end of the game for the same reason.

Violence — Heavy (7/10)

While there is a lot of violence, it is all bloodless and mostly aimed towards robots and faceless clone troopers.

Overall — Fun (8/10)

I highly recommend this for any Star Wars fan, especially if you like fighting games.

Review: "Champions: Return to Arms" (PS2) [updated]

Information

Title

Champions: Return to Arms

Published by

Sony Online Entertainment

Developed by

Snowblind Studios

Platform

Playstation 2

Rating

T for Blood & Gore and Violence

Genre

RPG » Hack & Slash

Plot

Picks up shortly after the end of "Champions of Norrath" with a quest to gather the shards of Innoruuk for good or ill.

High Point

Being able to import your character from "Champioins of Norrath"

Low Point

Mostly the same game-play as any other hack-and-slash RPG.

Context

I am a big fan of the hack-and-slash RPG genre of games and quite enjoyed the first game in this series.

Scores

Story — Adequate (3/10)

The story picks up a while after the events of the first "Champions of Norrath" and you are again enlisted to combat the evil, but this time you also have the option of joining the evil (I have not yet played through this side of the game). The story itself is good enough, but can be ignored without any detriment to the game.

Originality — Quirky (4/10)

As a sequel and a hack-and-slash, I didn't expect much originality. Where it does get original is in the story and settings, though some settings are repeats from the last game. Also new to this game are the challenge levels, once you beat a level you can try for the challenge. If you get all the challenge medals, then you gain access to a powerful weapon (or so I'm promised, I did not achieve all the medals). They also introduced two new character classes, but as I imported my character from the first game, I had no use for them.

Graphics — Standard (5/10)

THe graphics are smooth, though there are occasionally points where you can see the screen build assembled (only right after a load). The view is fairly constrained, so you can't see too much detail on the characters, but what you do see is good. I love that the armor looks different for each character class (even the same piece of armor).

Production — Excellant (8/10)

the game fits together very nicely, the artwork is superb and the voices all fit the characters.

Difficulty — Varying (6/10)

I played through on the easy setting with my character from the first game which means the game started out terribly easy. As I progressed through the game, it got harder and harder (perhaps due a bit to my tendency to only wield loot from ikilling monsters rather than actually buying it). On the other hand, I started playing through again (on the 'evil" path) on the next highest setting and it got very hard pretty quickly. My brother and his girlfriend are playing on that setting and find it a bit easier as they've found some AI bugs to exploit in two-player co-op play which I did not have at my disposal in single-player.

Violence — Heavy (8/10)

You're whole purpose for being is to kill things, and lots of them. There is a bit of gore, but not to the extremes that some games go to.

Overall — Fun (8/10)

I thoroughly enjoyed playing the game even with it's flaws. If you liked "Champions of Norrath" you'll like "Champios: Return to Arms". I hope they keep this series going for a while, especially with the character import, that allows you to really develop your character.

Review: "Star Wars - Episode III: Revenge of the Sith"

Information

Title

Star Wars - Episode III: Revenge of the Sith

Directed by

George Lucas

Written by

George Lucas

Starring

Ewen McGregor,
Natalie Portman,
Hayden Christiansen,
Ian McDiarmid,
Samuel L. Jackson,
Jimmy Smits,
Frank Oz,
Anthony Daniels
and Christopher Lee

Format

Theatrical release

Genre

Sci-Fi Action

Rating

PG-13 for sci-fi violence and some intense images.

Plot

The fall of the Republic into the Empire and the fall of the Jedi order.

High Point

There are a lot, but for my absolute favorite, I'd have to say Darth Vader's first breath with the mask on.

Low Point

Padmé's character delves deeper into the realms of unbelievability in this one.

Context

I am a huge Star Wars fan, I grew up with the original trilogy and have read many of the books. I have devoted countless brain-cells to the storage of useless Star Wars trivia.

Scores

Story (9/10)

This is a good story about corruption in its many forms and the causes thereof. It is well put together and if anything a bit brief in portions.

Originality (9/10)

I am not personally aware of stories that parallel this, but I wouldn't be surprised if there are some. Like all Star Wars it grabs us with it's universal myth.

Effects (10/10)

George Lucas is the master of special effects. It's no wonder that ILM is the big dog in the field.

Acting (7/10)

Here's where it starts to break down, the acting is not as great as it could have been, most likely due to the cheesy dialogue the actors had to spew forth at times.

Emotional Response (7/10)

Overall my response was good with the exception of Padmé

Production (10/10)

Excellent, the sets are awesome, the mood is wonderfully set and the effects are blended seemlessly.

Swash-buckling (10/10)

Now that's some lightsaber dueling. Several of the bad guys seemed a little wussy in the end, but they still fought well.

Intelligence (7/10)

There is a fair amount of subtlety in the entire prequel trilogy that finally comes to a head here though we, the audience, knew where it was going all along.

Gore (5/10)

There is quite a bit of death, but it is all bloodless, thanks to the use of lightsabers and blasters, and a fair amount is obscured from our vision to save us from the sight with one major exception.

Sexuality (1/10)

None to speak of, Padmé's outfits are much more reserved in this one. There is some hugging and general affection between Anakin and Padmé and they share a bed, but only in a sleeping capacity.

Overall (10/10)

This is quite possibly the best Star Wars movie of them all. It is dark and brooding and full of action.

Review: "LEGO Star Wars: The Video Game"

Information

Title

LEGO Star Wars: The Video Game

Published by

Eidos

Developed by

Giant and Traveller's Tales

Platform

Playstation 2

Rating

E for Cartoon Violence

Genre

Action Platformer/Puzzle

Plot

Um, you play through the entire Star Wars prequel trilogy (yes, that includes Episode III).

High Point

You get to play through Episode III plus the final ending "To be continued..."

Low Point

Can get a little difficult to collect all the widgets to unlock everything, but only a problem for the completionists among us.

Context

I'm a huge Star Wars fan as well as a big LEGO fan, so I was excited by the very idea of this game.

Scores

Story — Adequate (6/10)

This isn't really a story driven kind of game, rather it's a get through the level and try to collect all the widgets. There is a nominal story mode that follows the stories of the prequel trilogy of Star Wars movies, but mostly focuses on the action sequences therein (this is not a bad thing).

Originality — Unusual (8/10)

I'm not entirely sure how to rate this, the premise is wonderfully original, but the settings are taken completely from the Star Wars movies. I think that, in the end, the uniqueness of the premise wins out over the setting and characters.

Graphics — Superb (9/10)

Okay this game looks block and chunky, but it's supposed to. It really feels very much like you're playing with actual LEGOs throughout the game with some very minor exceptions in the buildings.

Music — Perfect (10/10)

What can I say, it's a Star Wars game with Star Wars music in it.

Production — Excellent (9/10)

This game loads quickly and rarely (I think I saw it two or three times) has to load overtly during the game. There is a seamless transition from the outside of a location to the inside and from one location to another. Another really nice feature is that there are hidden continue points within the areas so that you don't have to always go back to the last save point anytime you die or fail.

Difficulty — Mostly Easy (3/10)

If you're just concerned with beating the three episodes, then the game is quite easy, though two players can get a little tricky without some good coordination. There is no fixed number of lives you can go through though you are penalized for each death. If you're a completionist, like me, it gets a bit tougher as you try to collect all the widgets in each level. The bonus level does seem to require two players (or, at least, one player controlling both characters).

Violence — Minimal (1/10)

There is a lot of "cartoon" violence, but it is mostly directed at aliens, robots and faceless people. There's no blood whatsoever and the closest it comes to gore is that beings break apart into their component LEGO pieces when killed.

Bonus Features — Mediocre (5/10)

Mostly this consists of buying hints or special addons (the only really useful ones seem to be the mini-kit detector and invincibility). You can also purchase characters to play as, which is kinda nice as you can purchase any of the characters you've faced-off against (you automatically gain the use of any characters who join your party in a level).

Overall — Must Have (8/10)

I'd call this a "must have" for any Star Wars or LEGO fan out there.

Review: "God of War" (PS2)

Information

Title

God of War

Published by

SCEA

Developed by

SCEA

Platform

Playstation 2

Genre

Action,Platform,Puzzle (similar to the two recent "Prince of Persia" games)

Plot

You are Kratos, a warrior for the gods and you must stop Ares, the God of War.

High Point

Almost no explicit loading with expansive areas.

Low Point

It can get difficult at times and I got stuck once and frustrated at a later point. Also their depictions of Ares and Hades are kinda out of the ordinary and seemed influenced by modern beliefs more than I'd like for an ancient greek tale.

Context

I enjoy hack & slash types of games as well as the platformer and puzzle genres. Additionally I quit enjoy greek mythology and gods.

Scores

Story — (8/10)

The basic setup is fairly straight foreword, but the back-story of Kratos, as revealed through a series of flashbacks, gets to be more intricate and throws some interesting curves. The final resolution of the game is quite to my liking.

Originality — Unusual (8/10)

The game-play is quite reminiscent of the recent "Prince of Persia" titles and the setting is somewhat similar to "Rygar", but the way they're combined yields a rich and distinctive new universe. The story departs from the established greek mythologies in several important ways, but uses those departures to further the story.

Graphics — Gorgeous (9/10)

This game looks great, the environments and character models are highly detailed and the effects look good.

Music — (9/10)

The music really help to set the mood of the game and it does so well. The music is a very interesting combination of various cultural styles and sounds which are assembled to create a sound that is foreign (to us Americans) and ancient which perfectly compliments the look of the game.

Production — Excellent (9/10)

This game loads quickly and rarely (I think I saw it two or three times) has to load overtly during the game. There is a seamless transition from the outside of a location to the inside and from one location to another. Another really nice feature is that there are hidden continue points within the areas so that you don't have to always go back to the last save point anytime you die or fail.

Difficulty — Challenging (5/10)

I play games on their easiest settings so that i may better enjoy them and that was generally good for my level of ability. There were a couple of instances where I had a really hard time seeing the solution to a particular puzzle. Towards the end of the game is a series of puzzle/traps that got a bit frustrating from the ease of dying while trying to navigate them.

Gore — Bloodbath (10/10)

There is a lot of blood flowing from a horde of monsters set against you. Additionally there are all kinds of dismemberment including ripping the heads off gorgons.

Sexuality — Topless (5/10)

There are some instances of toplessness (or, at least, see-through tops). All of the female-ish monsters are unclothed thus revealing bare breasts, but this is not titilating.

Bonus Features — DVD-esque (8/10)

I was actually surprised to learn that there are bonus features on this game (though this is an increasing trend). The content of those features is very similar to what you're likely to find on a DVD, you get several making-of featurettes including some looks at stuff that was eventually removed from the game including a 3D model gallery of various early models. Most of these features are unlocked once you beat the game, but some of them require that you go even further.

Overall — (/10)

This is a great game which kept me enthralled to the end (which can be rare for me). I eagerly await further games in this series (there are some ideas in the bonus features).