Xbox In-depth Reviews

        As it goes, there aren’t that many Puzzle games on the Xbox, and the main two that are, Puyo Pop and Ultra Bust-a-Move, are on pretty much every platform available. However, having stared as an Arcade game, Puzzle Bobble has had fifteen console incarnations, ending-up with Ultra Bust-a-Move, the first of the series to be released on the Xbox. Read More…

              When Full Spectrum Warrior was released last year it proved that military based Shooters didn’t have to follow the tried-and-tested Third-Person Control System, and that a strategic title had a place on home consoles. Although you never directly fired any shots, instead simply instructing your squad, Full Spectrum Warrior was still strangely compelling and earned itself respectable reviews across the board. Given the critical and financial success of the original, the release of a sequel seems hardly shocking. Full Spectrum Warrior: Ten Hammers boasts improved control, vehicular combat and new Squad Management options, but is it enough to fix the problem of occasionally less-than-engaging gameplay that plagued the original?

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Talk about Football games today and it’s likely only two brands will come to mind; EA’s FIFA and Konami’s Pro Evolution Soccer. Things were not always the same though, back in the heady days of 16-Bit gaming, before even FIFA International Soccer, there was a different king; Sensible Soccer. It’s sequel, Sensible World Of Soccer, is widely regarded by it’s fans as the best Football game ever and many still play the ten year-old title even now. Although incredibly simple, due mainly to lots of system’s controllers having only a few buttons, and featuring bright, but ultimately minimal graphics, hours could easily be poured into Sensible Soccer, especially in Multi-Player, perfecting the fine art of curling the ball into the top-left corner from thirty yards out. Although the original is still a fine display of addictive game play, graphically Sensible Soccer is a game from three generations ago and predictably, not as pretty as you remember. Fortunately, CodeMasters are bringing the insanely fast, stupidly addictive, pick-up-and-play character of Sensible Soccer to the Xbox and PlayStation2 in the guise of Sensible Soccer 2006, and hopefully, unlike the terrible PlayStation incarnation, they have got it right this time.

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            No doubt you will have heard of The Da Vinci Code. Ever since Dan Brown’s controversial book about the legitimacy of the Church was released in 2003, the world has gone conspiracy mad. Since then the book has sold millions around the world and, predictably, has been made into a film. Being a blockbuster movie of no small significance, a tie-in videogame was inevitable.

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Rebellion’s second release from the 2000 A.D. stable comes from a lesser-known series than their first release. Judge Dredd Vs. Death was met with a heavy-hand at retail, despite being welcomed by the gaming press. Rogue Trooper has a different path to retail, and comes at a time when the traditions of the current-generation are about to become out-mooted.

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Let’s face it, ever since the first couple of Tomb Raider games, the series’ creator Core Design rested on its laurels. Gamers have had to sit back and watch Lara Croft’s assets go from pert and perky to stretched and sagging, with the only noticeable difference between instalments being changes to her cup size. Core Design were finally and sensationally kicked off the series after the hateful fifth sequel, Lara Croft; Tomb Raider: Angel Of Darkness, and US studio Crystal Dynamics was brought in to give the old girl some much needed back support.

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              On the shelves that hold your games collection there is almost certainly at least one Third-Person Action game lurking about. Hardly surprising since the genre encompasses everything from 50Cent: Bulletproof to GUN, Beat Down: Fists Of Vengeance to Star Wars: Episode III: Revenge Of The Sith. These days almost every film tie-in can fit into this group, prompting some to suggest that the genre has reached its’ saturation point, and considering the state of such unoriginal tragedies as Predator: Concrete Jungle, this hardly seems an outrageous statement. However, the genre does allow players to experience game worlds in a much more movie-like way than can be offered by almost any other, giving it a huge range of gaming possibilities. Utilising one of the slightly more obvious uses of a Third-Person Action game, a Science-Fiction Shooter, Advent Rising has been released simultaneously for PC and Xbox. Although boasting a far more generous line-up than Nintendo’s seemingly-almost-dead GameCube, the arrival of the Xbox360 has meant a decline in support for Microsoft’s original big black box. Is Advent Rising the game to send the Xbox out with a bang? Or has that task been assigned to the much anticipated releases of Driver: Parallel Lines, Lara Croft’s Tomb Raider: Legend and FarCry: Instincts: The Next Chapter? Read More…

            The 2006 Torino Winter Olympic Games starts on February 10th, 2006, and once more the games industry feels compelled to go through it’s two-yearly motions and release an Official Olympic game. Unfortunately Olympic Tie-ins are generally a pretty hit-and-miss affair. They rarely attempt to do anything original, with most using the button-bashing system pioneered by Konami’s Track And Field games in the late ‘80’s. However, although hardly inspired, most offer decent playability, especially when played with others. The wide range of events involved in the Olympics help to keep games fresh but, unfortunately several titles have managed to make a total hash of gameplay, resulting in an annoying, uninvolving mess. Can we expect Torino 2006 to change the age old Joypad beating method? Or is it a case of the same old system with nicer graphics?

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            THQ have taken their usual route of releasing their AAA children’s title on a multitude of formats. Disney/Pixar: Cars is based on the film of the same name and has been released on every major console format – bar the Xbox360 – with even a release coming on Wii in time for Christmas. However, this isn’t necessarily a bad thing; the release on the NintendoDS demonstrated some real flare for developing a top-class children’s game which still requires skill and perfectly follows the ideology of it’s host format – innovative new games. The GameCube version also had a good innings, and deserves recognition within the set field. The Xbox and PlayStation2 version are most likely identical to the GameCube release – as is the tradition with modern multi-format videogame titles – but without a full analysis, there’s no way to be sure. Read More…

            Rockstar Games have made quite a name for themselves since starting life as a small under-funded games developer going by the name DMA Design; the massive success of their Grand Theft Auto series has now made them a household name throughout the world and a lot of money in the process. Not bad at all; and not surprisingly Rockstar Games are now making many big-budget titles with which to WOW the huge audience they now have. This title is no exception.

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