Saints Row 2 brings true freedom to open-world gaming. Players can play as who they want, how they want, and with whomever they want in this sequel to the much acclaimed and tremendously successful Saints Row. Set years after the original, the player finds himself in a Stilwater both familiar and strange and challenged with bringing the Saints back as the rightful kings of Stilwater and bringing vengeance to those who wronged him.
On the surface, Battle of the Bands has potential, as it pits one music group against another in heated battles to see who performs better while engaging in heated battles. The Execution execution wise, however, the game falls flat. You follow a few beats on a specific track while occasionally blocking incoming attacks and launching your own. It gets bland over time and it’s not nearly as interactive as other music/rhythm games. Some of the tune remixes are hilarious (hearing “Blitzkrieg Bop” as a country song) and the versus mode is okay, but the game needed morefeels more like an opening act than a big name Rock Band.
When Enemy Territory: Quake Wars hit the PC last year, many gamers enjoyed it because it takes the multiplayer mayhem from Quake III Arena and mixes it with teamwork mechanics. Over half a year later, the game arrives on consoles, but doesn’t play nearly as well as its predecessor. With a significant drop in visual fidelity as well as a reduction in the number of people in online matches (from 32 to 16), things just aren’t as exciting. Quake Wars offers little in-game explanation of its deeper features, and with only 12 maps and no significant single player campaign, you’ll cycle through the same experiences too quickly to justify the $59.99 price tag.
There are adjustments you need to make in order to fully enjoy Guitar Hero: On Tour, the franchise’s debut on the Nintendo DS. You don’t actually hold a plastic guitar peripheral this time around. Instead, you grip your DS system while pressing buttons on a four-fret device that plugs into the GBA port. It’s not the most comfortable way to play, but it is very effective way to jam with. The song list, although shorter than most Hero games, still packs in 25 selections. The game also benefits from a (mostly) strong presentation, multiplayer modes that includes DS-exclusive mini-challenges and a slew of unlockable content, including new guitars and accessories. Sure, it may have a few bumps (and a hefty price tag of $50), but this is still a Tour worth taking.
Solid Snake bids farewell in Konami’s PlayStation 3 exclusive Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots. A remarkable blend of Hollywood caliber cut scenes and a memorable soundtrack thrusts an old and cynical Snake into an epic struggle to kill his evil brother, Liquid. Though preachy and at times long-winded, the gripping narrative features unforgettable characters and over the top action sequences. On the battlefield, you’ll love sneaking past enemies, courtesy of Snake’s effective OctoCamo, which enables him to blend into environments, and the game’s well-stocked armory puts pistols, rocket launchers and sniper rifles into your hands. That said, combat is good, not outstanding, and enemies act foolishly. While Metal Gear Solid 4 is the most impressive cinematic achievement in gaming, its less impressive gameplay doesn’t match its superior presentation.
LEGO Indiana Jones lacks much to differentiate it from its Star Wars cousins, aside from the obvious changes in story, locations and characters. You’ll guide Indy and pals through all three classic movies (Raiders of the Lost Ark, Temple of Doom and Last Crusade), humorously retold without speech and expanded to provide more whip cracking opportunities. Not only will you play as tons of familiar faces, such as Short Round and Mola Ram, but you’ll also play with a friend and solve puzzles. This is great, but expect repetitive block smashing and item collecting that, in this third LEGO game, has overstayed its welcome.
Hellboy: The Science of Evil has some well-designed cut-scenes inspired by the comic books and the vocal talents of the Hellboy film cast, including Ron Perlman and Selma Blair. Unfortunately, those are its best features. Its gameplay consists of bland beat-em-up action and imprecise gun control. The in-game visuals vary between good (up close) and bad (zoomed out) and the co-op options are limited and confusing, especially since secondary characters don’t appear in the story sequences. Do yourself a favor and send this game straight to hell.
Alone In the Dark drags series protagonist Edward Carrnby through another supernatural nightmare. The production values are surprisingly high, with ambient level design, terrific sound and lots of “gotcha” moments to make the hair stand up on your neck. However, Alone In the Dark controls too stiffly, resulting in an abundance of cheap deaths. In addition, the item interface is clumsy, the third-person camera angles work against you and the driving sequence borderlines on unplayable. It’s still better than Uwe Boll’s train wreck movie, but the punishment it dishes will probably make you wish you had left it “alone” to begin with.
This may come as a surprise, but Summon Night: Twin Age is actually good. While it’s clothed in a generic fantasy package, the gameplay stands out, as you use the DS’ stylus to guide your characters through a variety of terrain and inflict massive damage on scores of enemies. There is a deep skill tree system, the ability to conjure beasts to fight at your side and plenty of weapons and loot to keep the hardcore achievers busy. For the rest, the combat is easy to grasp and fun to execute. Most gamers will find themselves summoned to a highly rewarding experience.
Wall-E presents hours of entertaining fun for kids and fans of the CG-animated film, but proves too shallow for adults. The premise is simple, you alternate between platforming stages with Wall-E and shooting stages with EVE (the female robot that Wall-E has a thing for), while occasionally using them together as they partake in their adventure on the rotted Earth and across the galaxy. It’s good but not great, occasionally running into camera problems that result in a lost life from a mistimed jump or getting “stuck” behind a wall. The multiplayer is good too, consisting of salvaging and shooting levels where you can compete with up to three other friends in offline split-screen action. It may not be much to anyone outside of the game’s intended audience – fans of the film and kids – but at least they’ll be entertained by Wall-E.
