MEMBER PROFILE FOR buckminster
Average Overall Score Given: 8.50000 / 10
Total Forum Posts: 6
Reviews
Silent Hill 2: Restless Dreams
Overall: I like Puzzle/Adventure games, and playing this reminded me of the really scary parts of Nocturne and Blair Witch I games for the PC. Dark, moody lighting, cinematic camera angles, freaky creatures to fight. Although some of the game elements seemed lacking (not enough puzzles to be a full adventure game, not enough fighting to be a full survival/horror game), the story is pretty interesting and the multiple endings are niceGameplay: I didn't like the gameplay all that much, since it didn't seem to have enough of either survival/horror or adventure aspects. Nocturne is a good example of having a lot more creatures to have to fend off and deal with odd puzzles that are well integrated into the story; What kept me going was the twisted storyline with more than one possible ending
Graphics: Very creepy feeling. I thought the lighting and textures were very cool, although they should have done more to utilize the X-box. BTW, keep the visual noise turned on for a better look to the game IMO.
Audio: Sound was very good, I got very antsy everytime I heard the radio static. Hearing the random noises in the background and the music was very good.
Suggestions: Put a little more effort into either the puzzle/adventure aspect and/or the survival/horror parts and this game would totally win me over.
Overall Score: 8.0 / 10
Oddworld: Munch's Oddysee
Overall: I've played the original Oddworld games on the PC and I have got to say I'm glad I got an Xbox for this game alone. It's very entertaining and I find myself forgetting to eat sometimes because I am wanting to finish a level. Very good game.Gameplay: The controls seem complicated at first, but are very intuitive after even a few minutes of gameplay. My only complaint is that it hard to use the left joystick to change between Abe's speed of moving and I tend to end up running most of the time. I preferred the old "hold a button to run or sneak" on the older Oddworld games. I don't know if the black and white buttons on the controller can be used like the color buttons (tap versus press), but maybe they could have given us better control over movement this way.
Graphics: Going from the original 2D to 3D is amazing. The levels seems smaller than the 2D levels of the Abe stories, but the 3D allows for more complex levels and interaction with them.
Visually stunning almost all of the time, but you have to wonder what it would look like if they started development on the X-box. Apparently, their rebuilding the engine for the next game, so I guess we'll see.
Audio: The gamespeak (although not the same for possessed creatures as it was in the Abe stories) adds a lot of fun to the game. I don't have an amazing sound system, so I would guess it could sound better, but not because of the game's lack of trying. Sometimes the music can get annoying, but the soundfx are very good and sound appropriate.
Suggestions: Better control over sneaking/walking/running and fully utilize the X-box's graphics processor (HD 1080i, please!!)
Overall Score: 9.0 / 10
