Reviews of Playstation games.
By kenco gold blend/carnage
Blimey, not again. Well, I rented out four games from Blockbusters not
so long ago. So I thought a review of each would seem apt, and may even
influence some people into buying said products. Oh yeh, I've also
bought a game as well. So there'll be a review of that as well.
Obviously. Tch.
Roight then, me harty's. Up for review are:
Porsche Challenge, Micro Machines 3, Tempest X3, Mechwarrior 2 and Soul
Blade.
In no particular order...
Porsche Challenge
Let's start with Porsche Challenge. Seeing as how I've written Porsche
Challenge in big letters. Well, the intro is short and sparse, showing
the characters you're going to meet during the game. The game has quite
a few options (BTW I don't have any of the rented games any more, so I'm
going on memory here). The options let you save race times, extra
tracks gained and the config (screen, music). You can pick a number of
drivers and, quite surprisingly, they do handle differently. While one
car slid round the corners like a pig on ice, another effortlessly
gripped the surface of the road like it had nails through the wheels.
As a one-player game, you're treated to having the top down so that you
can see the players in all their polygonal beauty. You can even tell
them apart, cor eh? That's how detailed this game is. I guarantee that
this game will wow you, because the graphics are spot on. This game has
the most impressive 3d in a racing game I have ever seen. Mind you, it
should have, considering it was developed in-house by Sony. The speed
is kept up, which provides a thrilling race. The best idea, and one
that should be adopted by all racers, is that of a split-screen option
for two players. Alas, the hood goes up, to keep the polygon count
lower, but the speed is kept up.
I managed to complete the game once and got the mirror-mode, but to get
the Test Driver, you need to complete the game again in mirror-mode and
then when you complete the game with the test driver you get something
else... that's what I was told when I phoned up PSM at Future
Publishing anyway. But I'd had the game for two days already so I
didn't have enough time to complete it again, then again. The sound is
also something worthy of mention, the spot effects are ace. The
seagulls as you coast round the corner where the beach is below you.
The roadworks and police siren fade in and out as you pass them, the
church bell. Brilliant! It helps if you're pumping your music through
a Hi-Fi and the speakers are placed either side of where you're sitting,
as this produces an ace stereo effect.
So then, the graphics and the sound are cool, what about the
playability? Spot on, ace.. although I almost threw myself out of the
window a couple of times when the car you challenge at the beginning of
every race nips in on the last corner. That can be a real bastard. I
found myself shouting "NNNNOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!! AAAARRRRGGGHHHHH!!!! FK!
FK! FK! FK!" And headbutt something. It really does get on yer
nerves. But, apart from that (which is just a personal thing) the game
produces a real challenge and lasts quite a while. I could imagine
after completing the game for the last time thinking,"Phew, well..
that's that then." It's because you're always driving a Porsche Boxter
(unless a secret car is revealed!) and driving it around and around a
track would start to get a mite boring after a while. Of course,
there's the lap-times, but once you've set yourself unbeatable records,
that's it really, isn't it?
However, it is the best of its type I have ever played, so some fairly
high ratings are in order...
Ratings for Porsche Challenge :
Graphics : 95%
Sound : 94%
Playability : 91%
Lastability : 89%
OVERALL : 92%
The next game :
Micro Machines 3
The same as Porsche Challenge is the best racing game I have ever
played, Micro Machines 3 is the best multiplayer racing game I have ever
played. Micro Machines, but in 3d seems like a cool concept and it is.
Codemasters have pulled it off and it is brilliant! First I ought to
briefly mention the one-player game - don't buy this game just for you
to play, it really does it no justice, I tried the one-player and it
gets boring very quickly as the computer players are umm.. too good.
Even a two-player (which is what I played at most of the time) lifts the
game as the other player is more fallible than the computer.
The tracks are amazing. You'll pick your favourites and there are some
really neat effects. Bursting into flames when you drive through a pool
of acid is pretty cool. Also, the huge, hammer weapons are the coolest
weapons, where you try to hit the other player with your mallet. Ace.
There are other weapons as well, including a missile that disables the
other player for a short while, another that, when you press your horn
it kind of sends out a shock-wave bouncing the other player away. Cool.
As said, the tracks are astounding and interactive, bump into the cat
and it'll meow like it's just been castrated. The cups make a "chink"
sound when you bump into them. This game has been put together so well
its incredible. Oh yeah and the title screen where you pick which type
of game you want to play - pure brilliance! I didn't realise either,
but you can actually play four players using two joypads! Wish I'd
known! Ah well, I had fun enough playing two-player anyway.
Even the background ambience is cool, the dinner-table courses being
complemented by the sounds of a banquet going on in the background and
the school tracks having kids laughing and playing in the background.
The track with the Rock Project is cool, read the name tags given to the
rocks, especially the last one!
This game is brilliant! Polished, ever-lasting, graphically and
sonically it's cutesy and well presented. Highly recommended.
Graphics : 90%
Sound : 96%
Playability : 97%
Lastability : 97%
OVERALL : 95%
Hmm... Mechwarrior 2 now
Mechwarrior 2
Right then, contrary to all the magazines raving on about how
wonderfully splendid this game is, I'm going to go against them. Yes,
really. And here's why..
I recommend that you only rent this game and not buy it as you'll
complete within your rental time. It is VERY EASY. I played through
the sixteen set of missions with one clan in a matter of hours. Then I
got half-way through the other clan in about half an hour. I thought,
"Naa.. can't be this easy, surely" But it is. I only got half way
through the other clan as I only started playing the other clan on the
last evening of rental when it had to be back. Y'see, the game is made
rather easy as the weapons can be fired off in salvos, ie you can fire
one weapon, cycle to the next, fire that off, then cycle to the next,
fire off a load, etc.. all you have to do is target something to make
sure your missiles hit it. The only major problem is that you tend to
heat up quickly, but if you time it, enemies can be despatched easily.
However, this is a game that gave me such a buzz when I was enjoying it.
Your mech has a limited amount of armour and enemies tend to target the
soft bits, so there can be some nail-biting situations where you are on
the last of your armour (when it's flashing) and one more enemy mech
comes peeping round the mountain in the distance. It's fairly easy to
destroy it, yes, but then it's fairly easy for it to destroy you
considering you're on your last legs and the enemy hasn't been hit yet.
The feeling you get in this situation... it really gives you a buzz.
So then, the structure of the game itself. Well, there's three
campaigns per clan - two offering four missions each and the main one
offering sixteen to plough through. With each mission, there's a weight
limit to your mech, so you can only choose mechs up to that weight
limit, which means that you start off with the smaller mechs first and
get access to the larger, heavier mechs later on. The sixteen mission
campaign also has (apart from the missions) training missions in an
arena where you prove your worth to gain ranks. There are some well
designed missions, one where you have to escort your high commander to
an opera house and the driver decides to drive Through the warzone
instead of Around it. Tch. So then you have to go round shooting
everything. Chauffeurs, eh?
Just thinking, the last time I got a buzz from a game was Turrican 2
when you had to pilot your spaceship as it got faster and faster through
narrower and narrower gaps - the first time I did that it gave me such a
buzz, the adrenalin going.. er, anyway.
So then, the graphics. Yep, they are perdy darn fine. Textured n stuff
with the lasers creating a real time lighting effect as they play across
the landscape. The sound's pretty good as well, with the music setting
the mood well, the sound effects of your missiles and cannons rattling
off rounds of ammunition being pretty realistic (if you think 100-foot
mechs strolling about the countryside is a pretty normal thing, of
course).
So, it is a pretty good game, it's just a bit short-lived, tis all.
Graphics : 90%
Sound : 90%
Playability : 89%
Lastability : 68%
OVERALL : 79%
Tempest X3
This game, for those who have not experienced Tempest before, is pretty
wierd. I've known about it, but I've never actually played it. The
game actually offers the original version as well, but I tried it and
it's not a patch on the updated version. There's options for a two
player game as well, but less said about that the better methinks as
that's REALLY wierd. The music's cool, the graphics are top-notch
worthy, so what of the gameplay?
It's pretty good. It doesn't really take that much time to figure out
what's going on, if you hit certain enemy fire they transform into
powerups that can be picked up to give you extra potency, from points to
an AI droid that shoots the enemies for you. Cool.
The aim of the game is to shoot everything. Basically. You are a sort
of claw ship thing that hangs between two lines on the web. The web
stretches into the distance, appearing smaller as it gets further away.
The enemies appear from the distant end of the web and range from things
that come up and shoot you to things that when shot, split into two of
these things and shoot at you, then there's the other things that build
obstacles that you have to avoid when you fly through the web (you do
this when you complete a web). You'd have to see it to believe it,
really. I am really trying my best to describe this game, but it's a
wierd one. However wierd it is though, it is pretty good. It's quite
addictive too, blasting away the..er..things. The webs come in all
shapes and sizes, from flat ones to round ones to some really rather
wierd shapes.
But that's it, apart from a bonus level where you fly through hoops,
aiming your ship. That's pretty good fun mind. But the only thing you
do otherwise is shoot things on a web. The only variation is the
different webs. I don't know because I didn't get very far into the
game, but I suspect that is all you have to do. I suppose it could get
boring after a while.
Graphics : 83%
Sound : 89%
Playability : 86%
Lastability : 85%
OVERALL : 84%
And last of all, a game I've actually bought -
Soul Blade (NTSC version)
Well, I'm quite lucky as I bought my Playstation second hand and it's
one of the first batch so I can do the easy swap method. This allows
access to import cd's. Which is a good thing, as Soul Blade runs full
screen, at the speed it was intended to run at. And it's bloody
impressive. For a 3d fighting game, I have never seen so many options.
Let's see, you can practice any character against any passive /
weaponless / weaponed / fighting character. You can survive for as many
battles as you can. You can time your fights. There's a two-player
mode, a one-player mode and a story-book mode where each character goes
through their own story. Once you've earned weapons in the story-book
mode, the Edge Master Mode, you can use these in the other fighting
options.
One criticism that has been made against this game is that it lacks the
flexibility of moves that Tekken 2 has. Hmm... fair enough, but it
doesn't make it a bad game at all. The moves can be learnt and pulled
off and some of them are rather impressive with their own special
effects. Where Tekken 2 concentrated on combat, Soul Blade concentrates
on the armed player, each and every combatant in SB has their own suite
of weaponry. Rock, for instance (now that I earnt it in Edge-Master)
has a rather hefty looking weapon that is A Big Rock On The End Of A
Sturdy Pole. Boy, does it look good. In fact, the whole game shines
with graphical effects.
Every arena boasts 3d effects, and some of them are amazing. The
graphics are shinier, slicker and another word beginning in "s" and
ending in "er" than Tekken's graphics. There's a whole lot more 3d
being chucked about in Blade than Tekken. It seems fairly obvious to
compare Blade to Tekken as they are near enough the same style of game.
The music and sound in Blade is also of a very high standard. There's
three lots of music you can have in Blade, the original arcade version,
the remixed version or kahn's mixed version. I prefer kahn's, but they
are all good. If I could only have a new cd drive as the music keeps
skipping on some tracks.. ah well.
So then, an amazing game. There is one other thing, though. When
you're fighting in the one-player arcade mode, the step-up in difficulty
from Stage 9 to Stage 10 (Cervantes stage) is immense. Cervantes,
sometimes seems unbeatable, while the reincarnation into Soul Edge is
sometimes easier. There was one time where I got up to Cervantes stage
in a matter of minutes and I was stuck for ten minutes trying to get
past Cervantes. Then to beat Soul Edge in a matter of seconds
afterwards.. wierd. Ah well.
For those that have Tekken 2, maybe take a look. You might be
pleasantly surprised. For those that don't have Tekken 2, buy this. It
really is quite good.
Graphics : 98%
Sound : 95%
Playability : 94%
Lastability : 98%
OVERALL : 96%
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