PS2 and PC versions reviewed.
Star Wars: Battlefront 2 is a shooter published by LucasArts and developed by Pandemic Studios for the Playstation 2, PSP, Xbox and PC.
GAMEPLAY
STORY
GRAPHICS
SOUND
VALUE FOR MONEY
OVERALL
Monday 31 October 2005
STAR WARS: BATTLEFRONT 2 REVIEW
Star Wars: Battlefront 2 is a shooter published by LucasArts and developed by Pandemic Studios for the Playstation 2, PSP, Xbox and PC.
GAMEPLAY
STORY
GRAPHICS
SOUND
VALUE FOR MONEY
OVERALL
Thursday 27 October 2005
SHADOW OF THE COLOSSUS (2005) REVIEW
Pushing the Playstation 2 to the absolute limits.
PS2 exclusive.
Shadow of the Colossus is an open-world action adventure game published by Sony and developed by Team Ico for the Playstation 2, Playstation 3 and Playstation 4.
This review has spoilers!
GAMEPLAY
You would have thought that a game with only three different ways of combat, sixteen enemies - all bosses and no minor enemies and a world with so little to actually interact with possibly wouldn't be that fun. It's incredible how amazing this game is when thinking about it. You're only hopes against these massive hulking tanks is a sword, bow and whatever is in the local environment around you to hopefully help, or even hinder you. None the less it succeeds on so many levels.
The boss fights are fun, exciting and thrilling. They're quite different from most other games as it's not as straight forward as just smacking them until they fall over - well I mean it kind of is but it's got far more to it than that. Each boss feels like a different puzzle to solve, how to scale them, where their weak points are and how you're going to deal with their attempts to throw you off. Whether you're getting chased through a sandy cavern, scaling a massive beast or having to cling on to bosses as they soar through the sky, each boss has it's own challenge and unique way of being dealt with.
The boss fights are fun, exciting and thrilling. They're quite different from most other games as it's not as straight forward as just smacking them until they fall over - well I mean it kind of is but it's got far more to it than that. Each boss feels like a different puzzle to solve, how to scale them, where their weak points are and how you're going to deal with their attempts to throw you off. Whether you're getting chased through a sandy cavern, scaling a massive beast or having to cling on to bosses as they soar through the sky, each boss has it's own challenge and unique way of being dealt with.
The climbing mechanic was really cool, I really liked they way you had to cling on to the controller with R2, as if you were hanging on like in the game, but there were rare moments where the game didn't always go exactly as you would like, whether it was climbing up a colossi the wrong way or even sometimes jumping at the wrong angle. Generally minor and uncommon things but they did provide some degree of frustration when they did happen.
Agro is one of the best video game horses ever. How he was used in some of the boss fights adds so much more to the game and makes some of them so energising, adding so much more pace into some of the encounters was awesome, whether you were having to dodge, escape or manoeuvre for your best chances to bring down certain colossi. I also really liked the way he actually felt like he was his own thing, where you had to kind of work together rather than him just being an extension of the player. He'd even sometimes just wonder around or try to follow you at slower times rather than just remain standing still like he was just another object to be interacted with.
Agro is one of the best video game horses ever. How he was used in some of the boss fights adds so much more to the game and makes some of them so energising, adding so much more pace into some of the encounters was awesome, whether you were having to dodge, escape or manoeuvre for your best chances to bring down certain colossi. I also really liked the way he actually felt like he was his own thing, where you had to kind of work together rather than him just being an extension of the player. He'd even sometimes just wonder around or try to follow you at slower times rather than just remain standing still like he was just another object to be interacted with.
STORY
The story might seem pretty simple on the surface but it actually has plenty of depth to it. One important aspect is how so much is conveyed through the world, or actions within it, rather than specifically riding on characters. There are plenty of interesting themes running through the game that aren't so simple to notice if you're not paying attention.
GRAPHICS
The PS2 is pushed to the absolute limit with this game. The
colossi look breathtakingly brilliant, alongside the very well done minimalist
landscape. It's incredible how much Team Ico were able to portray yet say so little. There's minimal HUD and very few locations to interact with yet the world feels like it has so much to it. Nothing is really being thrown in your face, and yet it's all just so masterfully crafted that the world invites you to explore it, rather than forcing you to. Little touches like Agro’s mane and Wander’s cloak flying in
the wind just add that bit extra to the experience too.
The biggest drawback for the whole game was the frame rate which could drop quite a bit sometimes. For casual players things like that could probably be overlooked but the drops really were noticeable at times and do impact the experience.
Complaints about the camera are a bit overboard, I didn't find it as bothersome as some people did but I feel it certainly wasn't perfect. I love some aspects of it such as when it pushes Wander and Agro off to the side to show off the scale of the nicely built world but sometimes it could be a bit bothersome on some colossi where it made them more challenging because of it struggling to follow where Wander actually was.
Complaints about the camera are a bit overboard, I didn't find it as bothersome as some people did but I feel it certainly wasn't perfect. I love some aspects of it such as when it pushes Wander and Agro off to the side to show off the scale of the nicely built world but sometimes it could be a bit bothersome on some colossi where it made them more challenging because of it struggling to follow where Wander actually was.
SOUND
Shadow of the Colossus has one of, if not the greatest, video game
soundtracks of all time. Every time you scale a colossus it feels absolutely
epic largely due to the astoundingly good soundtrack from Kow Otani. The score sounds like it was composed for a blockbuster movie, and still wouldn’t
be out of place with some of the best movie soundtracks either.
One really important aspect of what makes the soundtrack so good isn't just its grand scale though, in fact it's just the opposite. Sometimes nothing can be better than something and Shadow of the Colossus is one fantastic example of that where the music is usually absent when you're exploring the world with Agro - it's just the sound of the two of you, the wind and the wildlife. It's incredible to just sit back and relax sometimes with the outstanding atmosphere. Then when the next big battle comes about the music just feels that much more exciting.
One really important aspect of what makes the soundtrack so good isn't just its grand scale though, in fact it's just the opposite. Sometimes nothing can be better than something and Shadow of the Colossus is one fantastic example of that where the music is usually absent when you're exploring the world with Agro - it's just the sound of the two of you, the wind and the wildlife. It's incredible to just sit back and relax sometimes with the outstanding atmosphere. Then when the next big battle comes about the music just feels that much more exciting.
Around 8 hours long on your first play through, it wouldn’t
be out of the question to go back and replay some of the bosses on different difficulties, find all the collectables, or even just revisit the wonderful world and ride around or listen
to that incredible soundtrack again.
Shadow of the Colossus will undoubtedly be remembered as
both a great swan-song for the PS2 and also as one of the best games to grace
the platform. The game is packed with innovative, original ideas and really
pushes the boundaries. A couple of performance issues and an occasionally frustrating camera are the only real draw backs to this brilliant game. It's one of my favourite games of all time and a must have for anyone with a Playstation.
Tuesday 25 October 2005
RATCHET: DEADLOCKED / GLADIATOR (2005) REVIEW
A different direction.
PS2 exclusive.
Ratchet: Deadlocked is a shooter published by Sony and developed by Insomniac Games for the Playstation 2, Playstation 3 and Vita.
GAMEPLAY
Co-op story mode
Weapon mods
The way levels are designed means you end up playing the game for about 3 minutes before another brief cutscene showcasing the next part of the level. I found this to be slow and annoying really, a step back from the swift and fast pace of the previous games. I feel even if the levels were just one uninterrupted
The game does miss the platforming sections, and to some extent I didn't really find the weapons a major improvement over the previous games which leads to the game feeling a bit stale at times, I found myself wanting to take breaks often, rather than be on the edge of my seat for the next part like most of the other games in the series.
STORY
GRAPHICS
SOUND
Commentators repeat themselves far too often
VALUE FOR MONEY
OVERALL
This game should be really fun, but sloppy game design holds it back from really being great. However it is a good game though, and worth checking out if you enjoy the franchise, or shooters.
Tuesday 18 October 2005
SPYRO: SHADOW LEGACY REVIEW
NDS exclusive.
Spyro: Shadow Legacy is a platformer published by Sierra Entertainment and developed by Amaze for the Nintendo DS.
GAMEPLAY
STORY
GRAPHICS
SOUND
VALUE FOR MONEY
OVERALL
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