MEMBER PROFILE FOR GFoxBruins
Average Overall Score Given: 5.57143 / 10
Total Forum Posts: 0
Reviews
Outlaw Golf: 9 Holes of X-Mas
Overall: A fun game, particularly if you don't have the full retail version and want to see
what Outlaw Golf is all about (but aren't
willing to cough up $50). At $5 you can't
go wrong, but this game is sub-par
compared with the full game. Only nine
holes, only two characters, and
unpolished graphics make it good... but
not exactly great like the real Outlaw Golf
is.
Gameplay: Gameplay is as good as ever. You can
still beat your caddy, all the clubs and
balls are unlocked, and all the various
camera angles, etc. are there just like in
the full game. One bummer, however, is
that you can't save scores, stats, games,
etc. to the hard drive in this version. You
simply play, and then all history of your
effort is gone forever...
Graphics: Visually, you can tell this game was
hustled out the door. Compared to the
full retail Outlaw Golf, this is visually a bit
sub-par. The framerate is noticeably
more choppy, and things appear more
jaggy on screen to boot. Also, you can
only choose between two outfits for each
of the two players. Plus, there's no
Summer and Autumn, so it automatically
loses a point right there for visual
appeal...
Audio: I miss hearing Scrummy and Summer
and El Suave explain each hole on the
flyby. In this game only the announcer
ever narrates, and while it's funny it's not
quite as good as the variety of voices in
the original. Sound effects themselves
are very much like the full game, which is
to say well done.
Suggestions: A little more polish in the graphics
department is the only glaring issue,
although more players would also be
nice. Also, why can't we save games
and stats? But for only $5 no one can
really complain...
Overall Score: 7.0 / 10
Wreckless: The Yakuza Mission
Overall: I had heard all the hype about this game, but unfortunately it did not deliver completely. It certainly wasn't a BAD game or anything, but on the other had I certainly wouldn't fork out $50 for it either! Renting was a good choice...Gameplay: Gameplay is usually good, but the difficulty of the levels is totally random. I was able to beat some levels on my first try, whereas others took like 25 attempts to complete. Despite the variances in difficulty, the actual gameplay within each level is a kick in the pants, and sort of funny in a twisted sort of way. The biggest problem with gameplay is that there are only 20 levels, so the game gets over far to quickly (about 6 hours for me, as compared to 30+ for Project Gotham). Another problem: it actually CRASHED my Xbox (only the second game that's ever done it).
Graphics: The game looks great. There are dozens of things occurring onscreen at any given moment and it's a pretty amazing display of the Xbox's horsepower. A lot of the textures used are kinda "blocky" up close, but you dont' really notice too much while playing. The water (when you see it) is amazing, as are all the various shadows, reflections, etc. Framerate is the only problem in the visuals dept., as it occassionally slows down for a second or two during particularly intense scenes.
Audio: The sound fairly sucks. In particular the in-game voices are terrible! It sounds like the person was talking into a cheap speakerphone... through a pillow or something. You can hardly understand it! Other sound effects were about average, as was the music. No option to use your own soundtrack.
Suggestions: More missions! Also, get some decent voice acting...
Overall Score: 6.0 / 10
Rallisport Challenge
Overall: I'm a sucker for racing games, so obviously this game has immense appeal to me. More than any other game released thus far in 2002 I looked forward to RSC, and it definitely did not disappoint. Gameplay is great, the graphics are amazing, and the difficultly is just about right.Gameplay: The gameplay in RSC is outstanding. It's pretty easy to get the basic hang of, but truly mastering slides and braking on each surface takes a while. The late game icy uphill races are the best! Unlike Project Gotham (which I also love), controlling this game doesn't require surgical precision to succeed, but rather seems to reward "sloppy" driving at times (cutting corners, sliding through curves). The difficulty level is right on: basically just about when I start to become frustrated with a particular course I'm able to move on. My only complaint is that I wish there were one or two more locations to race at... basically I can't get enough!
Graphics: Simply AMAZING to look at! In my opinion this is absolutely the best looking game available on the Xbox to date (sorry Halo, Munch and DOA3). I've wrapped my car around trees several times because I've been too distracted by the incredible detail of the environments in the game. All the textures are very detailed, reflections and shadows abound, and the flora and fauna are outstandingly realistic. This is now my new Xbox "showoff" game...
Audio: The car sounds are great in Dolby Digital, and the ability to use your own music is a nice feature. My only real complaint is that the annoyingly-thick British accent of the copilot guy takes a while to get used to, and then even after you can understand him he doesn't usually time his advice very well nor very accurately... Also, I would prefer louder default settings for the external environment (cheers from the crowd, etc.).
Overall Score: 10.0 / 10
Star Wars: Starfighter - Special Edition
Overall: I was really excited to get my hands on this game when it first came out. I was really torn between whether to get Starfighter or SSX Tricky. I ended up with Starfighter, but was kind of dissappointed overall with that decision. It's a decent game (not completely terrible or anything), but it wasn't quite to the level of other games I've played on the Xbox. Would have been a better rental.Gameplay: Certain levels are pretty fun, particularly ones on planet surfaces (bombing along the river, flying through the canyon, etc.). Space missions were generally a lot less entertaining. I think it has to do with the wierd control setup and also how the spaceships seemed to handle. In a flight sim, for instance, when you turn left you first bank left. In Starfighter when you turn left it's basically like turning a car left, no roll. I realize you don't actually need to bank while turning in outer space, but it still seems a little wierd to "fly" without it...
Graphics: I wasn't all that impressed with the visual aspect of the game. I've been spoiled on "Xbox-only" type games, so playing this PS2 port makes the graphics seem pretty tame by comparison. In particular the textures on pretty much anything metal seemed really poor. While the three ships you pilot in the game looked pretty cool, most of the larger Trade Federation ships looked like big grey boxes. The Xbox can accomodate much more graphic detail than this game delivers.
Audio: Good sound effects, as is often the case with LucasArts products. Laser blasts, etc. seemed realistic and true to the effects that you hear in the movie theater. Voice acting on the other hand was only so-so... kinda cheesey sometimes.
Overall Score: 5.0 / 10
