MEMBER PROFILE FOR darianX
Average Overall Score Given: 9.57143 / 10
Total Forum Posts: 262
Reviews
Hunter: The Reckoning
Overall: A fun, fairly mindless, BLOODY game that begs to be played again once you finish the first time. I mean really...it's loads of fun cutting zombies into pieces and watching the body parts fall off and blood splatter! Fun, fun, FUN!Gameplay: Admittedly, it does take a little while to get used to the controls. One stick moves the character the other controls the direction they're facing. Once you get the hang of it you can spin around on a dime, hacking the whole time. It does get harder with multiplayer..the zombie spawn rate goes up exponentially, making for a bloody mess. Also, the levels don't seem really balanced..some levels are fairly large while others are very small, and they're not set together 100%, meaning one level is huge with 1000's of monsters and the next is a puny courtyard with a few zombies.
Graphics: Graphics are really sharp...some textures are a little flat but you'll never notice unless you're looking for them. Water effects are fantastic, as are reflections on a shiny floor. No slowdowns are hiccups to report either!!
Audio: The in-game sounds get a bit repetitive after a while...there needs to be more monster sounds coming from all over the place...it just seemed a little too tame really.
Suggestions: Balance out the levels...crank up the monster sounds
Overall Score: 10.0 / 10
Outlaw Golf
Overall: A fresh look at a notoriously stuffy game for snobs! Strippers, obnoxious Irishmen, white trash and plenty of funny comments and actions give this game an edge over previous attempts at a "light" golf game (see Hot Shots Golf). Beating the p1ss out of your caddy is a masterstroke...everyone who has ever played golf wanted to beat something with their club at one time...now they can! And raise their morale at the same time!!Gameplay: Plenty of different types of play are included, such as skins, best ball, etc. to keep you interested. Lots of stuff to unlock too, each tournament won unlocks something, whether it be clubs, balls, or another character to use. Then you have the driving range and putting green stuff to do...beating those challenges will allow you to raise the attributes of the character you're playing with. Gameplay is simple enough, there isn't a whole lot to say. But ya have to swing with the thumbstick instead of the 3 button press...clearly different than other games. Once you get the hang of it (and it don't take long) you'll be hitting straight as an arrow. Don't let the first set of clubs fool you into thinking you can't control the spin and so on...those clubs suck...unlock some good ones and watch what happens when you land on the green with lots of backspin. I don't care what some reviewers say about the physics...I believe they're right on the mark.
Graphics: Looks really good...nice looking grass...highway overpasses...g the game looks nice. Some of the character models in the cutscenes are kinda goofy but that isn't important. Overall it looks really good.
Audio: Oh God I laughed really hard at quite a number of the sayings in the game...such rude and sarcastic comments from the color commentator ("Mistress Suki is camping out in some real tall grass...WATCH OUT FOR TICKS!!") And what the players say during the reactions is hilarious too ("Yeah, give it up for Summer, she's a regular par slut"). Ambient sounds are good too. Teeing off sounds like teeing off..birds chirping...trains clickity clacketing...
Suggestions: More courses...more outfits for the characters...more things for the commentator to say!
Overall Score: 10.0 / 10
Gunvalkyrie
Overall: I adore this game! I'm considering putting up a shrine to Smilebit and Sega in my house...they have given the Xbox 2 of the most original games ever seen. Whiny brats and casual gamers shouldn't bother with this game because they are ruining this fine piece of programming's reputation. See below why I say that.Gameplay: This game is HARD! Let me say it again: IT'S HARD! The casual gamer will break the controller or the TV set after playing this for 3 minutes. The whiner set will do the same thing because it's DIFFERENT than most other games and because of it's difficulty level. Gameplay gets a 5 from me because it is difficult and it forces you to play at it's level and not your own. In otherwords, you play it the way the designers want you to. As for the control scheme, it's really not that far from the beloved Halo's but at the same time it's radically different. You will get a workout playing this game. Generically speaking, GV is a platformer with a jet pack. 90% of the game is spent in the air, so you must master the controls and learn how to stay off the ground. Please also remember that GV was originally designed for the Dreamcast, using a light gun and the controller at the same time. I think they did a great job translating that to a single controller.
Graphics: These graphics are fantastic. Nice textures and smooth framerates abound. No stuttering to be found in this one, although twice I noticed a slowdown. Notice the difference between slowdown and stutter. Halo stutters (jumps frames all over and gets you killed), Gunvalkyrie slows down (still playable and won't get you killed). I'd like to see every game look like this one does.
Audio: The in-game music ranges from Alice type music (the PC game) to sci-fi cartoon type music. Makes for a nice backdrop as your hands are cramping from doing so many combo moves :) Could have been some better I believe....
Suggestions: Keep on giving us these unique games!! JSRF and now Gunvalkyrie...2 outstanding games that take a simple genre (platforming) and make it seem fresh and new again. Thank you Sega!!
Overall Score: 10.0 / 10
Wreckless: The Yakuza Mission
Overall: Alright, let's all get over the comparison to the Gran Turismo games. Here it comes: WRECKLESS ISN'T GRAN TURISMO - IT IS AN ARCADE GAME NOT A SIMULATOR!!!!!! People just can't understand this is a pure fun arcade type game. It is what it is...FUN!Gameplay: Straightforward mission-based driving game. Missions range from easy to !&%$@#* hard but not in that order. They're mixed around to keep you on your toes, and to give you a break after a "r-hard" mission. I believe people are really, REALLY jaded (perhaps spoiled brats) that they can't accept and enjoy an easy to play fun game like this. Completing missions earns you new vehicles, plus there are cars hidden in various levels to find. Replay value is there because it's damn fun to run around with the different vehicles and wreak havoc.
Graphics: This is the first 2nd generation Xbox game. Pixel shading out the wazoo!! This game is really using the raw power of the GPU for sure. Replays often look like a film, sprinkled with various Photoshop type effects on the moving image..great stuff. Oh, for those who claim it's blurry - it's supposed to look blurry at times because of the camera setup! It gives the effect of heat radiating AND the effect of manually focusing the camera. It's a stylish, artistic thing. Those who watch film understand this :)
Audio: Sound is sound...it was good on my setup. Ripping your own music would have been nice, but oh well. I thought the voice acting was hilarious! Who cares about it being "out of sync"...there aren't that many cutscenes to watch anyway. Get over it and laugh!
Suggestions: Maybe expand the mission set to 30...long enough to develop some plot to follow. Let us rip music for the soundtrack while driving.
Overall Score: 9.0 / 10
Jet Set Radio Future
Overall: I can't begin to say enough good things about this game. Stylish, well-presented and thought out, great music, simple controls....it even slices bread!!Gameplay: You can't say many things bad about the gameplay, considering it is so easy to pick up and play. Sure it will take a bit before you become a grind master, but ease of use goes a long way here. Also, not limiting you to a time limit to accomplish a goal is great for exploring the city to find all the hidden stuff you missed the first time through.
Graphics: Fantastic graphics! This is the way cel-shading should be done. I'd even say JSRF should be used as a textbook on celshading. This game really looks like a live action cartoon...in the best possible way. Everything drawn just oozes with style and "street sensibility". The tag editor is a GREAT idea, let's see more of this kind of stuff!
Audio: Boy, I'm not a big fan of hip hop and electronic type music, but this genre really works great in this game. I found myself groovin' to the tunes more than a few times while grinding away...
Suggestions: Add the ability to make your own soundtrack...the tunes are good, but I'd like to hear some of my own mixed in.
Overall Score: 10.0 / 10
Genma Onimusha
Overall: I couldn't disagree with the staff review more. Genma is not just for Resident Evil hardcore fans because I love it!! I've never played RE so this is a new type of game experience for me and I found it quite challenging and fun. Newcomers to this type of game should try it before passing judgement. Limited save points, tough bosses and lots of enemies at points make it a challenging and fun game.Gameplay: There are a few things that need some work in this department, mainly the camera angles. Most of the time, the pre-rendered backgrounds and chosen angle are fine, but when you're fighting a boss they can be downright annoying and bad. There are many times where, if you don't move (blindly I might add), you won't even see yourself getting slashed to death. This really needs fixed. But other areas of gameplay are great. I think the limited save points were deliberate...to make it tougher....and I like that idea. I'd rather be challenged than have it spoon-fed to me. The fighting is easy to pick up..although the magic seems to run out quickly :) Puzzles are thought out and well placed mostly...I loved the variation of the Indiana Jones tile stepping room and the decoding of the questions. The only other quibble I have with the game is the use of the D-pad...I'd have rather had use of the stick. On a different note, I'd like to know how all these folks are beating this game in 5 hours...I've been playing almost 20 and haven't finished yet. I must really suck....The game length really doesn't matter to me as long as it plays well, and this one does.
Graphics: Not terrible, but not full-on Xbox quality either. The movies are fantastic but in-game models are a bit blocky and textures can be flat..I guess that's the PS2 heritage coming out :) All in all, pretty good here.
Audio: Great atmosphere music!! The wife thought I was watching a movie when I was playing the first time...the background music really does sound like a movie score. I think it actually HAS a soundtrack that you can buy!
Suggestions: Get rid of the D-pad and fix those sloppy camera angles please
Overall Score: 9.0 / 10
Silent Hill 2: Restless Dreams
Overall: Having never played any game of the "survival horror" genre before this one, I was excited to hear Silent Hill 2 was coming to the Xbox. My excitement was not wasted once it was put into my Xbox. Silent Hill 2 isn't without it's problems, but then again what game is perfect?Gameplay: Initially, I found it to be a bit confusing with trying to get your bearings in the fog without a map. I wandered around for quite a while trying to open doors before finding a bloody clue as to which way to go.
In general, the gameplay is good, but a few spots need work. There were quite a few times where I simply ran past zombies without engaging them. Then in other spots they were unavoidable. Unless you're trying to sneak past something, you shouldn't be able to just run past them. I have a small issue with the controls also, and that issue is having to hold in the trigger in order to attack! It is absolutely senseless to me. The X button is unused in this game so why not use that instead of holding the trigger and hitting A?
I found the riddles and "where to go next" clues well thought out, and the voice acting to be okay. Nothing outstanding for sure.
Something I have to mention here is that I love the camera angles of the cutscenes! Maybe I watch too many movies that I notice things like that, but I think it adds to the feel of the game :)
Graphics: What can be said that hasn't been said before? Great visuals! They add so much to the overall experience...I felt really dirty after leaving the apartment building.....And the fog looks pretty good too, even if you can't see through it.
Lighting is another area where this one shines (sorry). I really enjoy lighting effects in games, like flashlights. And this one does flashlights better than any I've seen before.
Audio: Don't know what to say here, except that the sound effects were pretty creepy, so I'd say they were well done. My wife yelled at me to turn it down once when she was in bed. She said those sounds were giving her the creeps :). I don't have a 5.1 system so I can't comment there, but it sounds good on my 3.1 system.
Suggestions: Please do something different with tht controls and the "run-by" zombie thing.
Overall Score: 9.0 / 10
