PlayStation2 In-depth Reviews

            The Growlanser series is quite a success in the US and Japan. Trading Figures, Soundtrack releases and even a special edition of this release, Growlanser: Heritage of War, amongst others, are all regularly available abroad. However, here in the UK, Growlanser: Heritage of War is in-fact the first release that’s been published for sale on these shores. That honour goes to Rising Star Games, a publisher whose reputation is going from strength-to-strength amongst Core gamers, thanks largely to titles such as Valhalla Knights and Luminos Arc, and updates in classics series including Bomberman and Harvest Moon, as well as the forthcoming intriguing Role-Playing Game Baroque.

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            THQ’s market performance has improved over recent years, with the company becoming one of the major publishing labels for videogames in Europe. Much of this would be due to the publisher’s successive string of Disney/Pixar and Nickelodeon titles, as well as handful of original Intellectual Properties aimed at family gaming. However, the publisher has also earned themselves a warm spot in many hardcore gamers heart. Seemingly having piped EA to-the-post with the idea of leveraging risky projects aimed at the hardcore market with the revenue made from their licences and Family titles. Games such as The Outfit, Frontlines: Fuels of War and Saints Row may not have ever seen shop shelves had it not been for titles such as Disney/Pixar: Cars or the WWE SmackDown! franchise.

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Based on the Disney/Pixar movie of the same name, Ratatouille is a Platform title where you play as a rat called Remy. With the guidance and help of your friends, Father and Brother you are on a journey to fulfil your dream of becoming a chef making recopies found in a book on the first Level.

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According to an old wise crab legend, only nine heroes can save the day from Mawgu who has escaped from prison and wants to take over the world by collecting all of the energy from time and space. He has servants in many forms, including birds, sand monsters, frogs and plants whom are enemies along the way. The nine chosen ones are the only ones that can save the world but they have been scattered around the universe.

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The story begins travelling to the Island of Oahu, Hawaii. The Island is dedicated to the sole purpose of racing fast cars. Following-on from the Xbox360 release of the same name; the player can drive anywhere on the Island finding Events on the way. These events consist of racing against a single car, racing against a number of cars, doing the fastest speed past speed cameras and doing time trials. There are also invites to Car Clubs where, if you beat all of the members, you become president of the club and receive a bonus; either a new car or a free upgrade for a car.

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In recent years THQ has become almost synonymous with making games for children. Despite a dedication to more mature software like Destroy All Humans!, Warhammer 40,000: Dawn Of War, Saints Row and Supreme Commander, THQ’s numerous Nickelodeon franchises appear to be where the majority of THQ’s time goes, most likely due to their consistently good sales. Although THQ are amongst the largest publishers of the oft ridiculed “kids game” their affinity with the genre hasn’t exactly translated into skill. For every Disney/Pixar: Cars or Barnyard there is a The Incredibles: Rise Of The Underminer or Spongebob Squarepants: Lights, Camera, Pants! Making the purchase of a new children’s THQ game a very hit-and-miss affair. THQ’s latest release, Avatar: The Legend Of Aang, looks to have promise. With gameplay similar to Activision’s X-Men: Legends and a great deal of licensed material, Avatar: The Legend Of Aang could very easily be a half-decent game, which is usually enough to spur parents to invest in it. However, given experience with THQ’s past licensed titles, it could all go very wrong.

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Is there anybody that hasn’t played Lemmings at some point? Herding the little blue critters through Stages of ever increasing difficultly has been done on countless platforms over the years, from it’s beginnings on the Amiga all the way to its downloadable status on the PlayStation3’s PlayStation Store and countless freeware clones. For those not in the know, Lemmings was created by DMA Design, the company that went on to become Rockstar North, creator of yet another incredibly popular series, Grand Theft Auto, back in 1991.

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Frontier Developments, the makers of Rollercoaster Tycoon 3, bring us their new Theme Park Simulator Thrillville. Thrillville is a PlayStation2 console-exclusive at the moment, with ATARI planning a PSP release just around the corner. Read More…

Parappa the Rapper is the gaming equivalent of marmite. However, whether you love it or hate it, its release way back in 1996 popularised a genre that, despite never truly becoming widespread, has inspired many imitations and spawned one of the most popular attractions of many arcades; the Rhythm game. The genre has evolved from its humble beginnings on the PlayStation Controller to the Dance Mat-based craze that swept through Arcades in recent years. Although jumping up-and-down has fitness and comedy benefits, it is still the domain of hyperactive teenage girls and drunk people. Unfortunately the former do not spend any real amount on videogames and the latter, well they probably can’t remember why they did it anyway. Naturally, when a genre shows promise like this, somebody will want to capitalise on the popularity and make a version for the videogame buying public and we all know what that means; bring out the gangstaz, the bling and the Hip-Hop and urbanize it. Enter SONY Computer Entertainment Incorporated, renowned masters of taking a genre and making it “hip”. The game? B-Boy.

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            2K Sports brings us their new Ice Hockey game, the newest addition to there NHL 2K series NHL 2K7. The 2K Sports series started on the SEGA DreamCast, released on February 9^th, 2000, as part of an exclusive line-up of sports titles and to become a main competitor to the Electronic Arts Sports titles. After releasing the first of the NHL 2K series the 2K Sports team didn’t release NHL 2K1 instead they took to making NHL 2K2. By spending more time on just one game they created a well presented title, trying to get one over on the EA Sports team. NHL 2K2 was the last of the 2K Sports titles to be played on the DreamCast, but as the console Market changed so did the 2K Sports team, wanting what most of us do, to make it big time and make loads of money, and so the company expanded, and released more games, such as the NBA 2K series. Hitting the market with better, or at least, the same quality of game as any Electronic Arts Sports title, 2K Sports added variety to the industry in an area which had previously been under a strict monopoly.

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