Burnout Legends Review

Burnout, Burnout, Burnout, what a series. Many different titles. Well, their latest is Burnout Legends for the PSP. Ok, I can sum this review up in two words, it's ooooooookkkkkkkkk. We have seen many good Burnout games in the past such as Burnout 3 and Revenge, but this one actually disapoints. Ok, now lets get into the review. The game is still fun. The concept of the game is getting pretty old though. The whole idea of the game is, crash, crash, crash. Honestly, it is starting to get boring not having much new. The graphics are astounding. They are very crystal clear, and the damage is incredibly detailed. Although the cars look good, the environments could use a jump. The buildings look very pixely and blocky. There are a few different modes. The racing mode, the crash mode, and a choice of car modes. You can play in different races when you go into the different car modes. But you have to unlock them first. If you are like me, you will definitely spend the most time in the crash mode. That is pretty much the only good part of the game. Now we shall talk about the races. Well, they are ok. The problem is, you can only have 4 computer cars on a track at a time. So there will not be a lot of crashing. Luckily, you can hook up to up to (I think) 4 PSPs at once with one single UMD. That is really good. There is online, but when I tried to go on, no one was on. I tried a day later, and no one was still on. So, either I go on at the wrong time, or no one cares much for online play. You decide. The controls are nice. Pretty smooth. The audio is pretty good. Nice licened soundtrack of songs that are popular, and songs you have never heard before. Luckily, THERE IS NO ANNOUNCER!! So you won't have to hear that annoying guy that really needs to be run over by about ten cars, and hit with shovels. I think EA finally realized how annoying he was, and took him out. Hopefully fired him and put his annoying ass on the street. Ok, that was harsh, but c'mon. There is an autosave after every level, which can really come in handy. The load times are really long, and take out of the gameplay, but it makes up for it. So overall, this game may not be as good as Jell-O, but Bill Cosby didn't promote it. This is definitely a good way to waste time. Still overall, crash mode is what makes this game. Burnout Legends gets 3 drunk singing great uncles, out of 5.

-Zam

Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic Review

Now when you want a good game, I have one for you. This game i am about to review is one of the best games i have ever played. Wondering what it is. It is Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic. I know, I know, a Star Wars game, but this one makes Star Wars look like god. This game may have a long title but it is perfect. Now lets start with the good. The story is amazingly good. You are person that doesn't know who he is put on a mission. You go to many planets meeting others and find out about yourself. You get to team up with many characters which you find on different planets. They get the force power correct, I mean, being Jedis on Ceperatan, and playing this game, it was like training on my Xbox. Also, the graphics are really good. There is a lot to do. It is sort of two games in one. You can choose to either be dark or light. The one you pick affects you and your team. Later in the game about 15 hours in, you finally get a lightsaber where you can chop all those bitches up with your blade. Ok, now the bad. One thing! The combat system is a bit wierd. It is one where you lay out your moves and then sit back and watch yourself kick ass. This is kind of a bad thing because it is more fun with direct combat. But, the level of amazingness makes up for that in everyway. This may not be a long review, but there is no more to say, this game is too good for words. It is as good as its title is long. Ok, I am going to try a Ton ending thing, KOTOR gets 5 Lightsaber waving Jedi Masters out of 5.

-Zam

Burnout Revenge Review

Be prepared for your car insurance rates to skyrocket because Burnout Revenge has arrived! How can a game with such a great predecessor be as good or even better? This is a game that shows it is possible, but not without a few flaws of course. Revenge goes back to the style of the first two Burnout games, with many changes that may turn gamers away or bring them even closer to the Burnout series (if they aren't already rubbed up against it). A little note, the opening of this game is pretty much ripped right out of SSX 3 except that it has been turned Burnout, real creative EA.

The game modes from the last Burnout games are still present, along with two new additions, Traffic Attack and Crashbreaker. Traffic Attack utilizes the traffic checking ability, having you check as many cars as you can before time runs out. When you get below 20 seconds, every time you check a car, you re-gain time. In the beginning, playing this is pretty fun, but after a while it gets really repeatitive and just plain boring, good thing there are only around 15 in the whole game. However sometimes I do feel the urge to get back at Rush Hour and find myself hoping there is a Traffic Attack soon. The Crashbreaker mode is basically all the regular game modes except that when you crash, you can set off a Crashbreaker if you have some boost left in your ride and maybe knock out a few opponents that would have passed you. This gives you WAY too much power especially since the AI players seem to use silent Crashbreakers that don't do anything or they just don't have any. Of course the regular game modes are still here, you go on 'World Tour' to unlock new cars and tracks to play with your other friends (or if you don't have any, yourself). Road Rage is still here in all its Takedowning glory along with regular races, crash (more detail later), time attack, a new and improved Eliminator, and many more.

The Online mode is back from Takedown with a vengeance. All of the modes from Takedown are back and now Traffic Attack and Crash Tour are available as well. Traffic Attack is WAY more fun online then it is off, even though it is basically the same except with two people. Crash Tour is rather unique, in it you play against up to six players all competing to reach a certain dollar amount by repeatedly crashing at a junction until someone reaches it. The winner is the one who does it in the fewest number of turns. The rating system has been updated too, now there are 50 levels for race and crash and the more people you beat, the lower it goes. Also if you beat people with a level 'lower' then you, yours goes up quicker, and that works backwards as well.

The first, and pretty much the biggest change is the ability to check traffic. Why it is called checking traffic, no one really knows, not even Criterion. Checking traffic is slamming into same-way traffic and using them like missiles to hit opponents. One thing you may notice is that when you 'check traffic', it looks like you're using the gravity gun from Half-Life 2, which is really awesome. The thing is, the real intense suspense that came from not knowing if you're going to run into a car around every corner is gone unless you're going into oncoming. The addition of this feature really does lower the level of difficulty, especially since your opponents almost never use their gravity guns on you. You have to admit that it is cool firing cars at opponents though.

The second way they have edited Burnout is Revenge. Now, when you get taken out, you can aftertouch some, then it shows you the person that took you out and commands you to get revenge on them by calling them your rival. If you manage to fufill the command (if you don't you will be punished by being taunted by the red marker over their car), you get a Revenge Takedown! What is so special about Revenge Takedowns you ask? I really don't know! I guess you get a little more boost and the red marker that was taunting you is now blue again. The horrible thing about Revenge is it really reduces the ability to Aftertouch since is flashes your totaled car for like two seconds then shoves in your face the fact that you got taken out (ha ha!). In the end, Revenge really doesn't do anything good, it's just there...staring at you...

Another change that has been made is to Crash Mode. First off, when you start off at a crash junction, you have to swing your club. If you stop the bar in the right spots, you will go very far in life. Also, the junctions now have jumps and there are multiple intersections or something like that to crash into, the last one being the biggest. You need to try to check the first junctions so you get money from them and then fly through and hit the last one making everything go boom. When you go off a jump, you have to deal with wind and trying to steer you car in the right direction kind of like Aftertouch. Now you can set off multiple crashbreakers as well if you hit enough cars. Also new to the crashbreaker ability is having to press a certain button over and over and over and over and over again if you want to make a really big boom. The last change to Crash Mode is the multiplier thingymajigs are gone and now there is a 'Target car' that will give you a lot of money if it is involved in the crash.

The last thing that has really change is the design of everything in the game, from maps to menus. The tracks have been totally changed, most importantly by the addition of shortcuts. They are marked by little blinking blue lights and they are EVERYWHERE. Of course there is a risk involved in taking them, maybe you'll be shot into cross traffic when you exit it, but a lot of times you will get a lot of great opportunities like vertical takedowns. It's just like some old guy once told me: with great risks come great shortcuts. The cars have also been redesigned, returning to the great designs of Burnout 2 which were awesome. I thought it was really cheap imitating real cars the way they did in Burnout 3: Takedown, and I guess they did too. They have redesigned the way you play World Tour kind of too. Each race has five available stars, which you can get from doing cool stuff during the race. Once you get enough stars, you level up and can start a whole new set of races to do. You will probably be very ahead of the system if you are an average player, but it does make you think that you have a lot left to do, which you do.

The graphics in this game are absolutely amazing, they are pretty much the best I have ever seen on a PlayStation 2. It does matter if the shine on a car is a little bit shinier then some other game, but it really matters when there are so many shining cars driving around. I love how when you start going really fast everything starts blurring around you and you really get a sense of the speed your car is going. The sound is, well, ok. I think they would have done better if they had a few more popular songs like Burnout 3 did, but it's still pretty good. One thing I am really happy about is they got rid of the commentator guy, he really got annoying in Burnout 3 and now he has been thrown in the trash, yippee.

I would like to thank all the little people at Criterion for making a great sequel to Burnout 3: Takedown. This is a great game, but don't get rid of your copy of Takedown, because you'll be sorry later. As a matter of fact if you try to sell it to me, I will take it and chuck it at your head repeatedly. In the end, I give Burnout Revenge 5 big fat vertical takedowns out of 5.

-Ton

Nintendo DS Review

Sorry that DS week has kind of been spread out, we've kind of been busy. Now to finally end it up, a review of the DS. This two-screen touchable wonder is surprisingly cool. First off the features are great, a microphone, 2 screens, one touch screen, wifi multiplayer, and soon online multiplayer for free thanks to Nintendo. Thank you Nintendo for making everything weirder then it already is. This is a really cool handheld like I said before, it's very innovative, except it's uniqueness (weirdness) makes it kind of hard for developers to make games for it. Developers aren't really using the DS's abilities very much either. The DS is available in Electric Blue and Silver. It has a download play feature for multiplayer so if your friends don't have a certain game that you want to play multiplayer on, you might be able to download a kind of demo to their DS so they can play. Another cool feature is the Pictochat, it is preinstalled and it lets you chat with your friends wirelessly using pictures and text. Obviously it can play DS games and also GBA games as well. It doesn't play movies like the PSP does :-(. Then again the games are microscopic, which is a good thing/bad thing, I'd rather not lose a game I payed $30 for. That's right, the games are like $30-$40, unlike greedy Sony who wants $50 for the PSP games. Also, as of now the DS is like half the price of the PSP at $130. Oh yes did I mention that it doesn't use memory cards like the PSP does (Yippee!), it saves right on the game like Game Boys have always done. I have said PSP too much in this review. That pretty much closes it up. I give the Dual Screen DS (I don't think thats a coincidence) 5 stylus rubs out of 5. (Check out Meteos and Nintendogs if you get one!)

-Ton

Meteos Review

Meteos, oh Meteos, oh how I love Meteos. Now I shall explain my love of Meteos for the Nintendo DS in a review. First of all this is a very good game. It is very weird how both the PSP and DS's best games are puzzle games. The good stuff about this game. Well. The graphics are good. Little blocks look great in Meteos! The gameplay is preeeetty simple. It's like Tetris but different. You use the stylus to move bricks up and down columns to make rows of 3, 4, or if you're lucky 5. Once they make rows or columns, they'll blast off. Before you say goodbye to the Meteos however, you have to meet gravity. Yes, gravity, oh how meaaan gravity can be, pulling down those Meteos that you wasted your time shooting up. However, you can be mean back by making more rows or columns of Meteos in the one you sent up, or shoot up some from below to push the ones already up there up more. Got that? Oh you don't? Too bad. That's pretty much all there is to the actual game. Let's see. There are 30 planets which I think you are firing off of, all of them have different amounts of gravity and different kinds of blocks. The thing about the gravity has to do with how fast or slow the Meteos go up, how far they'll go, and sometimes if you can't launch blocks in certain ways easily. An example is you couldn't launch a row of Meteos up the if you only tried sending up one set, but if you set up a second one under it and launched it off right after, they would go up lightning fast. There are a few game modes, Time War, Simple, Deluge, and Star Trip. Star Trip is the most fun, you get a path of planets you have to conquer, there are 3 different types of paths, and I think 2 of them have missions on each planet. There is wireless and no online, and you are an idiot if you thought it had online when Nintendo hasn't even started their online yet. The wireless has download play, so you can download the game to other people's DS's so you can play with them without them having a DS. The cool thing about this is you can unlock tons and TONS of stuff out of the Meteos you have launched. Stuff including music you can listen to and new planets to launch from. Speaking of sound, there is so much variety in it you will never get bored of it. One last note, a cool little thing is that you can drag the buttons on the menus around. Oh yeah and there is nothing bad about this game. This is a good, solid, and very puzzling game. It is also 5 Meteoses out of 5.

-Ton

Nintendogs Review

Nintendogs for the Nintendo DS was just recently released in the US. Now that game does look like a cute girly game, but apparently every owner of a DS (especially guys) want this game. Like some of my friends are going to get all three versions. They are pretty much the same games with different covers. All it is is a 3 hour fest of going AWWWWWWWWW. I have played the game and it is really boring to me, but it is really cute. It is a bit of a comfort and out of the ordinary game. And it has a lot of wireless features like playing with other peoples' dogs. You can train your dog in it to become a good catcher of Frisbees, or tennis balls. It is a lot of tapping and rubbing the DS stylus. At the end you can even put it into tournaments to see who is the best and the cutest dog ever AWWWWWWWWWWWWWW. Well it does seem like and oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooook game. It sold like sushi in Japan. Well it does deserve a 4 out of 5.

-Zam

Kirby Canvas Curse Review

Now here is a review of Kirby Canvas Curse for the Nintendo DS. This is a very fun game. Apparently Kirby has been turned into a little ball by a witch. The game is basically you having to go around and keep Kirby from hitting any little spikes because he doesn't want his little bubble bottom hurt. You do this by drawing Rainbow lines with the DS stylus. There are not only spikes but enemies too (YAY). Amazingly enough, there is not sucking and blowing involved!! (that may be bad for perverts though). He apparently absorbs them into his little ball body. The good things about this game are.... The levels are really fun, in them you go through and collect these special coins to unlock minigames. You can choose which boss you would like to battle. That is really good because if you suck at it you can always choose the easiest one. This game has a nice sidescroller graphics system that is very smooth. The bottom screen is used for gameplay, when the lonely, cold, worth nothing, top screen only does, how much rainbow you have left, lives, navigation, and a few other worthless things. Overall, this game is a very fun and enjoyable experience on your DS. A 4 out of 5.

-Zam

PSP Review!!

Now, for the big finale of PSP week. For the finale I will review the PSP! Yes, the amazing PSP in which everyone wants. This is one that everyone wants. First, the good, like all game reviews. The screen is nice and big. You can see everything clearly. Such as, the games, the videos, and the cool graphics. There is an analog stick! That is really, really cool. And it works very interestingly. The system is very SEXY. Yes, SEXAY. It looks great and it is going to come in different colors too later. There are so many hacks for it. You can watch movies for free, browse the net, charge with a USB 2.0 connecter, put GBA games on it, put games such as Tetris on it, and sooooooo much more. The graphics are incredible on the games. They are the best graphics of any handheld machine ever made. They are incredible. Look crisp clear and actually a little better than the PS2 graphics. The machine can hold soooooo many things. It can hold music, movies, games (not UMDs), and pictures. This is amazing. There is online play on some games. Which is great. Now you can only play online if you have wireless. In Wipeout Pure you can download content. That is awsome too. Also, Sony has just released version 2.0 of the PSP operating system which you can download at their website. This new system has a built in web browser! Ok, now, the bad presented by me. There is only one analog stick (more like a nub though), so we are probably not going to see a Katamari Damacy game anytime soon. I wish there were two nubbies. There is no R2 or L2 button, which i guess is ok. Most of the games are just being ported from the PS2 with different names which is weird. There is no built in memory, you have to pay $100 to just get 1GB of space, which sucks if you want to put movies on there. The games cost $50 each. That is waaaaaaaaay too much. Also, the system is $250. Which is also waaaaaaaaaaay too much. Ok, so if you want great handheld games and a great handheld machine, then you better get this, if you can afford it. So i give the PSP a definite 5 out of 5.

-Zam

Spider-Man 2 Review

Here is a review of Spider-Man 2 (the game) for the PSP. This is based on the movie, but is only called Spider-Man 2. First, the good. The graphics are pretty good. Smooth, a lot of detail. Some of the cut scenes have incredible graphics. But those are once in a blue moon cut scenes. The gameplay is fun. More fun sometimes then other. The gameplay is kind of like the first movie game. The bosses are actually pretty challenging. Some more AI than others. But you can still just wrap them in web and call it a day. They still have the titorial, which is good. The controls are pretty good (sort of.) You have to use the new addition to the PSP, the analog stick. This can get hard. The stubby analog stick tends to make you finger go many ways because of the ultimate grip. You do get used to it over a while, but you still feel like you want the D-Pad to be used. The audio is ok. I mean the voiceovers are pretty well done. Ok, now I have to go to the bad presented by my brain. The thug's AI is horrible. They stand there. You smack them. Smackity, smackity, an occasional kick, maybe a punch. Then you wrap them in web and yell things to them like "oh, you want more?" (Spider-Man doesn't say that.) I did say that the controls were good, but I lied a little. They get frustrating. No cheats :-( . So this game has its ups and downs like all games, but it is just a game to play if you beat all of your other games. Or, if you are a Spider-Man fanboy. A 3 out of 5.

-Zam

Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell Pandora Tomorrow Review

I don't know about you, but i think that it is amazing that a retired 50 year old Navy seal can come back and do another mission. Well i do. Yes, of course i am talking about Sam Fisher in his second game called, Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell Pandora Tomorrow. This game is 100% better than the first one. First the improvements/the good. The graphics have gotten a big boost. Facial expressions look much more incredible. The inviroments look incredible. The story is very good. Apparenly, the same evil agency as the first game, is planning to do an operation know as Pandora Tomorrow. You must stop this operation. The game is still nice and challenging. There are some great weapons and some very interesting substitutes for things that can kill. You still need a lot of patience for this game, but the gameplay makes up for it. The controls are pretty good, if you played the first game, you are a master at the controls. The enemies actually yell curse words! But, they are still as stupid as they were in the first game. "I hear something, what do you think it is?" "Oh, it is probably that guy in the spandex in broad daylight that looks like the enemy, but lets look around the room for no reason to make sure." "Ok." So they don't really say this, but it is that obvious. Although the intelligence of the enemies are not the best, they can aim great. That is about the time when the controls get annoying. Sam then decides he is going to go towards the bullets because they are pretty. So you get it, the AI is not the best, but the game makes up for that. Pandora Tomorrow is definetly a must have to put next to your Halo 2 and Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. And now that it is $20, there is no excuse. Splinter Cell: Pandora Tomorrow gets 5 jell-o molds out of 5.

-Zam

UMD Movies (PSP Movies) Review

Now for a special review. I am going to review UMD movies for the PSP. Now there are a bunch of movies now for the PSP (because Sony owns almost everything)(Everything else is owned by EA) There are movies like Spider-Man 2, Sin City, Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story, Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy (oh my god why), The Italian Job, Bad Boys, Guess Who, a stand up show from that drug guy who was in Africa, oh yeah, Dave Chappell, Napolean Dynamyte, and hundreds more. Now first, like a game review, the good. They look incredible on the PSP's big screen. Clear and crisp, and it looks like your plasma tv at home.(i know, i don't have a plasma either.) Um....... what else, what else, well they are portable. That is always good. It is much better than carrying around a portable DVD player. The movie's screen size can be chosen, you can change it to widescreen or fullscreen, or more. There is a giant variety as I have said ealier in this review. And, um........ Well that is all. And now, The Bad, presented by my notepad document. There are no special features. No commentaries, no deleted scenes, and no other stuff. I mean you will find your occasional special way to watch it, like in National Treasure (oh what a good film) there is a special watching mode where they tell you history facts on the bottom of the wide screen. That is very educational (which we all want, right?) Well, overall, having the movies is good, but it is only the movie. So if you want special features, try regular DVDs. All of the movies get a 3 out of 5.

-Zam

Ridge Racer (PSP) Review

You know a good game when you see one. Right. Well this one was a bit of a overpass, but don't do it again. Ridge Racer for the PSP was a bit of a pass up like i said before because of the version on the DS. THIS GAME IS 5000% BETTER!!!!!! We gave Ridge Racer for the DS a 3 out of 5, but not this one. I am sorry for saying this so much, but you need to not pass this one up. Now let us start with the good. The graphics are absolutely incredible. Crisp clear. The opening cinematech is very impressive. There is an Asian chick that leans on this car, and she looks so real. That will really impress you pervs, Doug.... Anyway, the cars are really realistic looking. When they go, you can really feel the sense of speed. Also, the gameplay is soooooo much fun. Some nice driving. There is nitrous. Which really comes in handy. You can speed past those great computers so fast, if you listen closely, you can hear crying. There are tons of tracks. You can unlock tons of things. Cars, tracks, modes, and more. A not-putter downer. Oh and so much more. Ok now the dreaded bad. There are only 2 things. The announcer is annoying. I mean Carrotop annoying. He really needs to be run over by a car. Maybe five. "You have 3 laps to go," duh dude, I only started a few seconds ago. "Whoa, looks like someone shot off some nitrous," nah, those blue streaks of fire, that is just the car letting off fumes from the engine. Ok, I am harsh, but play the game and see if you can deal with him. The other thing wrong is that it is for the PSP. So a lot of people can't experience how good it is. Ridge Racer is a great game, a good fun, a 5 out of 5.

-Zam

Super Mario 64 DS Review

Oh Mario. Mario Mario Mario. As you may have guessed, I am reviewing a Mario game, Super Mario 64 for the N6......I mean DS. How horrible your first DS game is, I never would have guessed. Nor would I have ever bought it, that's why I didn't, I got it free (and was FORCED to play it because I didn't have any other DS game right away). Well..It's a good game....but it is the exact same as the N64 version. Oh wait it is a little different, you start as Yoshi not Mario (Only difference I notice is one is red and one is green and together they make a christmas tree), but still if you've played the N64 version don't even bother touching this. Speaking of touching, there's nothing to touch (or poke, rub, or slide) in this game, it uses the touch screen little to none. The only thing it uses it for is menus and mini-games, which by the way are the best part of the whole thing (I am talking about the menus not the mini games). The minigames are actually very fun and make good use of the touch screen. Oh yeah and in the actual game you can play as 4 characters, a red plumber, a green plumber, a fat dude, and a green rolly thingy. The graphics are good for the DS though. Mario's hat has never been redder or rounder. The sound, well, it's Mario, and Mario music is madly annoying after a while at least to me. Let's see, there's multiplayer. Yay... I am really very happy and I am just not showing it (not really). Lastly, this game gets old fast. VEERY FAST. I think it got old after 5 minutes but most people say it's more like 2 weeks so I guess I listen to them.There's not much else to this game. It is not really worth $30 for an old game remade with new mini games, also it really doesn't use the touch screen to it's full ability. This would have been better remade for the 'Cube instead of the DS. For non-originality, not using the DS to it's full potential, it just being a plain remake, I give Super Mario 64 DS 2 Mama Mias out of 5. If it was on Gamecube it would be 4 out of 5 but it isn't so, go read a good book, which is just as portable as a DS by the way.

-Ton

Wipeout Pure Review

Here is a review Wipeout Pure for the PSP. I have been playing Wipeout Pure lately and it is a really good game. Not very much of a "putter downer" and a very miss if you do put it down. First the good stuff. The graphics are incredible for a handheld game, (which everyone has already heard at least 12 times.) The futuristic cars look really good and the game is pretty smooth. When things explode from weapons, it looks cool. Speaking of the weapons, there are a lot in this game. You have the bomb, the spike, the tracker, the blaster thingy, the missiles, etc.. You also have some tools such as the autodrive where the computer controls your ship and put in the correct direction, as well as defense systems to help you, of course, defend yourself. With these weapons, you can pwn!!! But after you shoot down those bitches, then you have to get at least 3rd to get to a next race. The race tracks are challenging and nice and long. Also it has it has pretty good audio. Ok, now the bad. First of it is (like every racing game) SO repetitive. It has very hard and boring mini-games like one where you try to make turns without getting hit. Also, the online is only you going on the Wipeout Pure website to download content, no online races. Well overall it is a good game and gets a 4 out of 5.

-Zam

Tony Hawk's Underground 2 Remix review

Ok, I am not a skateboarder and will never be a skateboarder. But i can still experience to injuries, the tricks, the wipeouts. "How?" you ask. Well, Tony Hawk's Underground 2 remix for the PSP. Now I know what you are saying, "Oh god, not another Tony Hawk game." Well this is another Tony Hawk game, but it is on the PSP. The story is that you are in a team trying to beat another team in a World Destruction Tour. Now you go to many different places to do this. Now lets get to the good stuff. The graphics are great. They look exactly like the PS2 version. It is fun. A bunch to do. And a lot of tricks. Now the bad. Very repetitive. It is just you skating on ramps and grinding rails. Too many missions on the list. You have to do so many things in order to get to the next level that that level gets so boaring, you give up. The controls get really frustrating. You really want to do a move and it makes you wipeout. Also, the steering is so, so hard to control. Very hard to balance on a grind, which gives it a bit of a realistic touch, but gets a bit annoying. The music is from bands you never heard of. Except for one good thing, the finally added Frank Sinatra and Johnny Cash which are perfect for this game. Overall, the game gets really, really annoying. Just a few words to Activision, FIX THE CONTROLS. A 3 out of 5.


-Zam

Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell Review

There are spies, they are agents, and there are 50 year old retired Navy veterans working for the government. Yes, i am of course talking about Sam Fisher. If you don't know who Sam Fisher is, you can't call yourself a gamer. His game, Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell is this review. Now, like always, let's start with the good. The story is very interesting and well written or created, whichever way you would like to say it. You work for a goverment agency called the NSA, and must complete missions against and evil orginization. You must stop this evil organization from trying to destroy the world. The graphics are incredible. The faces and expressions of the characters and enemies are so clear. They are incredible. The environments around you look very real also. Definitely some of the best graphics to ever hit the consoles (for its time.) The gameplay is really interesting and challenging. Very good gameplay. The physics and environments are good. The environments can really be changed by shooting or throwing grenades and things of that nature. You can shoot out lights! That is key if you want to get past your enemies. It is a great game. Now, (dundundun), the bad. You have to be very patient. You have to sit and wait for enemies to go by. But, that is it. This game is a must have for anyone who has a gaming system. And now it is $20, there is not reason you can pass this up. If you like games, you'll like this. A 5 out of 5.

WarioWare Twisted! Review

Where there is Nintendo, there is Mario, and there is Mario's close relative Wario, that read eyed greedy italian that always tends to eat bad garlic. Yes, he is back with his 50 billionth game called WarioWare Twisted! for the GBA. This is an amazing game. There is a new form of gameplay exclusive to Nintendo known as gyrochip technology. This is a special sensor that senses when you move your gba and what direction. This makes the game so much fun, original, confusing, and weird looking when people look at you playing with it. The game has stories with all of Wario's friends. There is the disco guy, the girl, the bla bla bla. They all have seperate mini-games where you lean your game in the direction it tells you to. Let me explain this. The gyrochip sensor can tell which way you lean your GBA. The mini-games are little "spin games" that take advantage of the gyrochip. Get it now? If you don't then I am very disappointed in you like I was when I saw the movie The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy. Now there are a bunch of mini-games and when you think you have unlocked all of them, there are many many more. Once you beat a story mode then you can go back to try to make a better score, or whatever. After you beat all of the stories, they all have a little boogie down, Saturday Night Fever this afterwords together. If you go back and finish the boss, then you get a souvenier. This is a mini-mini-game. These are little fast games that are good if you can only play for a little while. Now about the games. Almost each character has thier own mini-games (except for the few ones that the games from the others). This gives the game some variety and choice. Now the game only uses buttons in a few limited amount of games. This is a good way to make the gyrochip stick out as the key feature. Now this game is fun, original, smart, and impressive all at the same time. We hope that Nintendo can come out with some more great games with the gyrochip. Unfortunatly, they came out with a BAD Yoshi (of course, Yoshi game) with this. So far WWT is the best. A 5 out of 5.

-Zam

Burnout 3 Review

It's time to begin the National Burnout Day Ceremony! Here is a review of Burnout 3: Takedown for the PS2 and XBOX. So all you people who really love Burnout and only have that little box from Nintendo, it looks like you're gonna either be out of $150 or Burnout. I'd go with the $150 because this game is off da hook. I really don't see why they don't just call this game Kill All Cars since that's all you do anyway. Now to the actual game. IT IS GREAT IT IS GREAT IT IS GREAT! I really can't say that enough. The gameplay is very easy to learn and it is great fun right out of the case. The crashes are very fun to watch. Then again who doesn't love watching a good car crash? That's really what sells games in the first place - BIG BOOMS - and Takedown is FULL of them! The big addition to this version of Burnout is TAKEDOWNS! This is the most fun thing about the game, the ability to take out other racers and put them behind. Gaining boost is also a reward of taking down stuff, the other real reward is just letting out your anger on them. There are many different kinds of takedowns, the best of which are Signature Takedowns. Who doesn't love using a car to go fishing off the side of a cliff ('Gone Fishing' signature)? There are so many game modes it's hard to remember all of their names. Let's see there's crash (self-explanatory), race (see last parenthesis), road rage (my favorite game mode), eliminator (last place gets knocked off every lap), time trial (who ever doesn't know what that is, you need to be transferred to a lower level blog), and there are probably others that I can't even remember. Now the Road Rage mode is a very simple mode of the game in which your goal is to take out any and all other racers as many times as possible. So if you are very stressed just get a little stress ball and strap into the drivers seat for a mode of Road Rage, it is amazing how well this relieves stress (I think the ball is what helps the most). There are TONS and TONS of tracks. The cars are the one bad thing, there may be 70 but they are non licensed. Then again who would want to wreck a real car? You can unlock all 70 by reaching certain goals during World Tour Mode. Another addition is Impact Time in which after a crash you can slow time and steer your car into the pathes of others for Aftertouch takedowns or pick up bonuses in Crash mode. One other addition is the CrashBreaker in Crash mode, which makes your car go boom after a certain number of cars pile into your crash. The graphics are VERY good. The shine off of the cars is amazing. A bad thing about the graphics, there is a graphical glitch that makes the game un-playable for a while. If you just take it out and play another game or do something else for a while it should fix. The bad thing is the screen gets kinda crowded when cars are flying everywhere. The music is pretty good with some popular rock-alternative songs in the soundtrack. The DJ gets SO ANNOYING. There IS a reason you can turn him off and I recommend doing so. There is a freaking massive multiplayer and online mode. There are so many modes I haven't even gotten to try all of them. I think there are about 15 between online and multiplayer. That is pretty much it I guess. Even with the glitch and the unlicensed cars I give Burnout 3: Takedown 5 Signature Takedowns out of 5.

-Ton

Ridge Racer DS Review

Good steering, great graphics, more than 9 tracks, damage. These are a few things that you want in a good racing game. Well you aren't going to get that here. Ridge Racer for the Nintendo DS is well.... below standard. I mean for the DS. Well first, (like always), the good. It can be a little fun. A nice cute little racing game. There are cute cars. THERE IS A PAC-MAN CAR. Um........... (more good thing, more good things). Ok, htere is nothing more to say that is good about this game. And now, we are proud to present, The Bad, presented by my keyboard. Only 3 tracks. They try to make it seem like there is more because they make the tracks backwords and call it another track. No get fooled. The graphics are pretty bad. I mean they are ok for DS graphical standards but if you dont like pixely cars and enviornments, then don't get this game for the graphics. What is on the bottom screen you ask. A WHEEL. Nothing but a wheel and some menus. I mean you can use that to steer, but that is so fraggin hard. And i know that you little gamer doesn't want to get carpule tunnel, now does he, doooooooesssssss heeeeeeeeeee. (Or she). (now does sheeeee, doooooeeeeeessssssssssss sshhhhhhhhhheeeeeeeeeeee) All around this game is probably going to sell because of the Ridge Racer name. But seriously, consider it before you buy it. Especially since you can get Burnout 3 on the consoles for $20 now. If it wasn't for the Pac-Man car it would have gotten a 2. But they do, so it is a 3 out of 5.

-Zam

Lego Star Wars Review

A day ago, in a pc far, far away...........

GAMERMANIA
REVIEW

Episode 1: Lego Star Wars Review

It was a dark and warm night. All there was, was me and my pc.(and a sandwich) I wanted to write a review but didn't know what to write. Then a little thing came into my mind......

What else would it be but Lego Star Wars. The original game that was very addictive and fun. It stayed in my mind so fondly it was so hard to get out. Oh what a game. Then little lego Yoda told me to write a review for my blog of Lego Star Wars. And so the review came and was sent to the blog and the review........

Lego Star Wars for the PS2, Xbox, and PC is a very odd style, but very good game. This game is one of those where when you pass by it you are like, "Ehhhhhh, childrens title." That is when a big fish named Brandy should come slap your ass and call you Susan. Now first, the good. The game is FUN! It is so simple that a five year old could beat it in one afternoon while still taking a nap, eating lunch, and cry. But this is what makes it fun. Now the story is you going through the first three movies playing different little Lego characters. In each level you unlock tons of characters. Mace Windu, Darth Vader, Qui-Gon-Jinn, etc.... Now there are many little things in the levels, and tons of easter eggs. Now, the multiplayer. The co-op is the only multiplayer but it is sooooooo good!!! It is so much more fun playing with a friend instead of playing alone. (hehe).You can also kill each other in co-op. Yes, you can finally kill Jar-Jar!! MESA GONNA KILL YOU BIACH!!! Ok i am done. Also, YOU CANT DIE. Now what i mean by this is that if your life meter goes out, then you lose little lego stubs. Now talking about lego stubs, these are very important. You must collect these to buy things, unlock levels, and a bunch more. Also, there are these wierd things that look like all of the planets wrapped around a jar full of Oreo creme. These are also important for making ships to make a ship museum. So those are very important. This is a game for the whole family. Now the bad. Only a little bit. The game is really, really short. I mean like, take a pea then watch Star Wars Episode 1 and then you are done short. (ok not that short, about 8 hours) Also, it is really, really, easy. But the fun level makes up for all that. This is a full thing you don't want anyone to know about. A love, a friend, a 5 out of 5.

-Zam

Welcome

Hey, welcome to our Reviews & Previews blog. We did this so on our other blog you won't have to keep fishing through the archives to find you favorite reviews and previews. We will put all of them here after we put them on GM2. So if we put a new review on GM2, then we will put it on here a day after, same with previews. So enjoy the neverending reviews and preview on Gamer Mania 2: Reviews & Previews! Oh and by the way, if you find this blog on Weblogs.com and not our main one, here is a link to Gamer Mania 2.