MEMBER PROFILE FOR Gossamer
Average Overall Score Given: 7.40000 / 10
Total Forum Posts: 0
Reviews
Jet Set Radio Future
Overall: This game is a lot of fun and addicting. Its challenging but not to the point of being frustrating. Lots to see and do.Gameplay: The controls are great! They're easy to learn and use and really add to the overall gameplay. The camera can be a little off at times and I found myself circling a rail a few times to get the right approach to grind until I got the hang of the camera lock (left trigger). Contrary to some comments made by other reviewers here, you will fall, which costs you health and forces you to start over at a specific area in the level (not neccessarily where you fell), if you attempt to jump off a tall building (though to be fair, it has to be a REALLY tall building) and you will slow down and slide back when grinding if you jump onto an uphill rail without enough speed. The overall physics are obviously impossible for a human but hey this IS a video game.
Graphics: It has a cartoonish feel which fits the game nicely. Not a big fan of cell shading but this game does it right.
Audio: Play this with a 5.1 sound system! The music selection is great (if you like techno/hip-hop) but it can get a little annoying - if you have to restart a level you will hear the same songs in the same order. I found myself playing the game just to hear certain songs.
Suggestions: Downloadable tags would have been nice. Multiplayer co-op mode.
Overall Score: 8.0 / 10
Panzer Dragoon Orta
Overall: Brilliant - just brilliant. Sega/Smilebit put the time and attention into the game and it shows. This would have been a perfect 5 if it wasn't for the save system - what were they thinking?!? This game may not be for everyone due to its simple framework - point, shoot, fly - but for fans of old school games it works! If you are expecting GTA V or a platform type game look elsewhere. If you want to blast stuff in an immersive fantasy world this game is for you.Gameplay: Basic rail type shooter, which does limit the game a little but it more that makes up for it in the incredible visuals and sound. Not having to really worry too much about where you are going lets you concentrate on what you need to do - shoot down the bad guys. This game is about scoring and replay not getting through all the levels of the game as quickly as possible.
Graphics: The best looking XBox game. The cut scenes are beautiful. No slow downs anywhere. The enemies and level bosses are varied and just visually incredible.
Audio: Music and effects fit the game nicely. Sounds great on a 5.1 system - I especially liked the dragon's wing flapping sound effect.
Suggestions: The save system!!! Only one game can be saved at a time - its called a hard drive people ... use it. Multiplayer of any kind. Live support.
Overall Score: 9.0 / 10
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic
Overall: This is my first 'real' RPG experience (I have played Baldur's Gate on XBox but that's not an RPG the way KOTOR is) and I am not a huge fan of Star Wars games - I was a big Star Wars fan until the last two movies - so I went into this with some reservations. All the reviews said that you didn't need either pre-req. to get into the game but to be honest I think you will enjoy the game more than I did if you are into RPGs or Star Wars games. Overall the game is fun and addicting but suffers from some annoyances that keep it from being truly great. I think the lack of XBox RPGs is working to this games favor as most reviews tend to overlook some of the negatives (that most other games get knocked around for) and really focus on the positives.Gameplay: Get used to the loading screen, you'll be seeing it a lot. Get used to running around in semi-empty environments, you'll be doing a lot of that too. Those two aspects combine to slow down the action. But when the action is good, and you are moving the plot along, the game kicks butt. Nice combination of puzzle solving and combat. Light side/dark side decisions add lots of depth to the game as your actions/responses affect the game - and some of the dark side responses are just hysterical.
The environments are HUGE, which is good and bad as you must walk through levels regardless of whether or not you've already completed whatever it is you needed to do. Once you've completed a task you end up doing a lot of walking through an area with not much to do but look at the pretty textures. A transit option to/from check points would have helped a lot. You can usually transit to your ship and back but not from within the area.
Turn based combat took a while to get used to. Found myself wanting to be more involved in the combat as it was quite nice to look at while it was happening. Once I got the hang of it though I liked it but I still would have liked real time combat.
Lots of side quests and mini games. Gameplay really opens up after the first two planets, and you get your hands on a lightsaber, so hang in there - it gets much better.
Graphics: One of the worst parts of the game - not that it was bad - just not up to par with the rest of the game and certainly not on par with what the XBox is capable of. For all the loading/disk access this game has you'd think it would have more to offer visually.
The NPCs are repetitive, frame rate dropped frequently, slow downs in a few spots, a few very minor bugs here and there, the backgrounds are the best part.
Audio: Wow! Besides the great story line this is the best part of the game. Great voice acting, Star Wars music, etc.
Suggestions: I've seen that loading screen so many times now I'm beginning to halucinate and see it as I leave my house. Large environments are nice but don't force me to walk around doing nothing other than walking around - if I've cleared an area let me transit to it later on without having to walk for 5 minutes to get there - totally kills the momentum of the game. Real time combat. Great plot/story line - don't let that team go! He/she should be working on the next Star Wars movie.
Overall Score: 8.0 / 10
Godzilla: Destroy All Monsters Melee
Overall: I was sooo looking forward to getting my hands on this game and now that I've played it ... well, its basically a fighter and I'm not a huge fan of fighters (which I knew ahead of time but was so hoping I would like it cause its, you know, Godzilla). As a fighter its no DOA3/MK/TF/etc. - any comparison made between the two will leave GDAMM in the dust at every level. As a campy party game its great fun - this game is all about multiplayer - which makes the lack of full XBL support a glaring omission (down-loadable content is supported). Definitely rent this one before you buy.Gameplay: The monsters move slowly - which I guess is appropriate given the subject matter - but it hurts game play - it feels/moves like a fighter in a big rubber suit. Not a lot of combos to execute but each monster has unique attacks. D-pad is better than using the left analog stick IMO. Can be a little frustrating at first - expect to spend a lot of time rolling around on the floor until you learn how to get out of throws or block attacks. Single player modes are kind of repetitive but multiplayer Melee is a lot of fun. Destruction lets you stomp around the city knocking down buildings for points - cute for a while in single player, a lot better in multiplayer. Nice variety of cities but the play area itself is not that large. Maybe down-loadable content will add more cities/monsters?
Graphics: I noted some collision detection issues, especially when hitting buildings. The camera isn't the greatest - when you start a level the buildings can get in the way of the camera until you knock them down. If the camera is in close it can keep you from getting power ups if your opponent has been knocked down - very frustrating. Monsters move smoothly and have pretty decent textures. Background is ok. Hit a building once and it shows damage - nice. Hit the same building again and again and it shows no new damage until it eventually collapses - not so nice. Everything is destructible and some buildings/objects can be picked up and thrown at an opponent. Would have been cool to break off say part of a bridge or building and use that as a projectile rather than just having it crumble into rubble. No real sense of scale as the camera tends to look down on the action - the cities look/feel like they are fake - that might have been intentional given that the movies have the same look/feel but the movies shot up to make the monsters appear huge relative to the landscape. That's not the case here (the monsters don't really look that big) however I don't think it would have worked gameplay wise to show a ground based perspective.
Audio: Roar, crash, symphonic background, roar, crash, symphonic background, roar ... you get the picture - not much going on that's groundbreaking in this department.
Suggestions: Full XBL would have put this game over the top - it would have been well worth the delay in releasing the game. More monsters to unlock - why no Jet Jaguar? Ok, he's not a monster but maybe Gamara? Ok, he's just a flying turtle but still there are others that I would like to see make an appearance - XBL download maybe - hint, hint. Fix the minor collision detection issues. Speed up the monsters a little and improve the camera so buildings don't block the action.
Overall Score: 6.0 / 10
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
Overall: This game is strictly for the LOTR fans (and it that respect it succeeds) but even they should rent it not buy it. Its a good game but flawed in many ways - mainly due to EA not giving it the attention it deserves. The clips from the movies are a nice addition but only hard core LOTR fans are really going to care about unlockable cast interviews/art work etc.Gameplay: Your basic button mashing/hack and slash game. Very linear - you're on a 'rail' and can't really explore the LOTR world (which would have been great for fans). Instant death by fire is annoying as hell. Aragorn can take 10 wacks from a troll and keep on going but get him near fire for more than 3 seconds and you're done. That wouldn't be so bad if it weren't for the fact that at times you are swarmed by attacking orcs and can't really see there's fire around. You can purchase combo attacks but most of the time I found myself using three or so basic attacks. After a while I found purchasing more strength and upgraded basic attacks more useful.
Graphics: Not bad but the XBox is capable of soooo much more. The animation of the cut scenes are laughable - if that's pre-rendered EA should be ashamed of themselves! Overall very smooth while playing the game, no slowdowns even when there's a lot of action on the screen but the detail is just not there - shields are supposed to be round, faces are supposed to have depth etc.
Audio: Music from the movie so there's not much that was added specifically for the game beyond effects - explosions on surround sound are very nicely done.
Suggestions: EA has to do better than this - its a sloppy PS2 port and an obvious 'fast money' release targeted at the LOTR fan base. If EA isn't going to give the XBox the respect and attention it deserves then its going to be a long time before I invest in another EA game. To add insult to injury, in the cast interviews they cut away to samples of the game ... the PS2 version and it looks better. Multiplayer of any kind would have been a great addition, especially co-op. More characters to choose from. You can play as Isildor but not Gandalf?!?
Overall Score: 6.0 / 10
