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Game Reviews by Jim Giorgio on June 30th, 2003
There are not too many fast motorcycle racers out for the Xbox console, but one title that may need your craving for a fast cycle racer through crowded streets is Speed Kings from Acclaim.
Players have the option of choosing over 20 different bikes and then racing them through some interactive street levels complete with traffic, obstacles, and radical jumps. Feel the need for some speed? Strap in and take Speed Kings for a spin then.
Graphics
The Xbox does a remarkabl…
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Game Reviews by Jim Giorgio on June 23rd, 2003
Gamers looking for a First Person Shooter on the Nintendo GameCube have never had a better game to check out than Metroid Prime–a classic FPS with some of the best visuals seen to date on the console outside of the Resident Evil series.
The story follows a brave warrior by the name of Samus Aran as she infiltrates the depths of Tallon IV in an attempt to uncover a mystery surrounding Phazon and it’s effects on life forms. Using a specially designed battle suit, which is e…
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Game Reviews by Jim Giorgio on June 18th, 2003
Few titles have the ability to be both cute and popular amongst all types of players, yet with Animal Crossing, this is exactly what one gets. The game has such great playability to it, that everyday brings something new and refreshing to the table. The character and town designs are almost unbearably cute–but in a good way that adds feel and depth to the overall game. Are you ready to be wowed by a classic Nintendo title? Then pack your bags–you’re moving to Animal Crossing !
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Game Reviews by Jim Giorgio on June 15th, 2003
Take me out to the ballgame! Buy me peanuts, and popcorn, and…ah, maybe not. But, you should probably check out Inside Pitch 2003 out now for the Xbox console.
Players can do a bevy of gameplay options with Inside Pitch 2003 such as Season, Single Game, Network Play, and Championship Challenges. On top of all that, players with the LIVE service hooked up to their consoles can enjoy some downloadable content from the MS servers and invite a friend for some action out on the diamo…
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Game Reviews by Jim Giorgio on June 15th, 2003
Rayman is certainly a character that gets around. Not only has he seen a fruitful life on the Playstation 2 console for a number of years, but now he is available on the GameBoy Advance system from Ubi Soft with the title Rayman 3.
Incorporating many of the characters from the Nintendo GameCube version of Rayman 3: Hoodlum Havoc, this GBA offering sees Rayman doing what he does best; fighting the evil minions of the Dark Lum and finding his pal Globox, whom has disappeared…
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Game Reviews by Jim Giorgio on June 12th, 2003
Sometimes when a game is delayed and put out a little later than planned, the anticipation surrounding the title can help it with the fan base that had been waiting for it. However, that anticipation can cut both ways with folks who had been waiting for a game to release and end up just losing interest altogether.
In the case of Brute Force, the game was featured prominently at the Xbox Press Event during the 2002 Electronic Entertainment Expo. Indeed, it seemed the title was only a few short months …
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Game Reviews by Jim Giorgio on June 12th, 2003
When I first saw Primal at the last E3 expo, I wasn’t particularly impressed with what I saw. A clunky battle system, jerky movements from the main characters, and visuals which could arguably be called mediocre.
Then Sony sent me a demo version of this game last month and I actually had some fun playing it. Imagine my disappointment when the full version arrived here and the game left me somewhere between boredom and frustration. Indeed, Primal will undoubtedly leave many gamers in the same …
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Game Reviews by Jim Giorgio on June 10th, 2003
Last fall when Grand Theft Auto: Vice City came out for the PS2, gamers got to witness a myriad of gameplay options. Not only could you shoot, beat up, hold up, and run down people virtually everywhere, but another big draw to the game was the fact that you could jack any car, anywhere, and haul ass around town in it.
Now Rockstar Games has recreated the racing parts of the Grand Theft Auto series and added some great extras in Midnight Club II–the sequel to Midnight Club–out …
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Game Reviews by Jim Giorgio on June 1st, 2003
During the 1970’s, Kung Fu and martial arts films were the in thing. Bruce Lee and the cheap Hong Kong action film were leading the wave of popularity of the Far Eastern martial arts. Even music of the time reflected America’s love of the Kung Fu culture with a hit song entitled Kung Fu Fighting.
Now Microsoft has brought all of the fun and campy nature of those old 35 mm films to life here on the Xbox. Kung Fu Chaos is a colorful, tongue-in-cheek fighter that is influenced by the Hong …
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Game Reviews by Jim Giorgio on June 1st, 2003
The year is 2008 and the Soviets are up to their old tricks again. It seems they liked the idea of having an Eastern Europe border nation, and they want to pull all of the entire break away provinces back under the sickle and hammer. Of course, America and her allies cannot let that happen, and just like we stood up for freedom at Kosovo, Serbia, and Kuwait, we will send troops and supplies to the region as a ‘peace keeping’ mission.
This is where players enter the game Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon for t…
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Game Reviews by Jim Giorgio on May 30th, 2003
Thank you, Rockstar Games.
Thank you for creating the masterpiece of video gaming known as Grand Theft Auto: Vice City. In doing so, you guys gave the finger to every special interest group and soccer mom clan in this country that likes to blame shoddy parenting on mature video games. Thanking Rockstar is a good thing in the aspect that we are lucky that there are still studios–like Rockstar–out there that will create mature games like Grand Theft Auto: Vice City for us to play. With…
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Game Reviews by Jim Giorgio on May 30th, 2003
Those players out there that enjoyed the PS2 title Frequency and the arcade game Dance Dance Revolution, now have another dance/music title on the Playstation 2 console to move the beat to. Amplitude from Sony lands this month with a full soundtrack, colorful visuals and varied gameplay.
Players pick up the role of a spaceship as it travels down beams of color and sound. Using the directional buttons or the shoulder buttons results in a beat along an already established piece of music. …
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Game Reviews by Jim Giorgio on May 29th, 2003
Sony seems to be on a roll this season with the release of another fun Role Playing Game that is quite a sight to see. Dark Cloud 2, the sequel to the popular title Dark Cloud which released during the first year of the Playstation 2, is the game we are reviewing here today.
The story follows a young man by the name of Maximilian, or Max, and a girl named Monica. Max is an inventor who likes to tinker with things–hence he carries around a large wrench which also doubles a…
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Game Reviews by Jim Giorgio on May 29th, 2003
London is known for several popular things: Fish and Chips, Big Ben, the river Thames, but one thing it will probably never be credited for is being the centerpiece of an engaging, fun videogame–at least if one only looks as far as The Getaway. It’s a guarantee that nothing will confuse and frustrate players quicker than a game that can’t make up its mind what it is. Is it a movie? Is it a game? Well, whatever it is, it should choose a path early and then stick with it.
The plot…
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Game Reviews by Jim Giorgio on May 29th, 2003
Like a bolt out of the blue, Guilty Gear X2 comes out this month and totally hits a player between the eyes. When one thinks of fighters on the Playstation 2 console, most think of the studios Capcom or Sega–and those titles popular to those particular production houses. Yet, Sammy Studios released a fighting title for the PS2 that is so marvelous, so fun, and so entertaining, that it almost completely redefines 2-D side scrolling fighters.
The game, of course, is Guilty Gear X2 and it must b…
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Game Reviews by Jim Giorgio on May 29th, 2003
Even though Final Fantasy X-2 is releasing in Japan this month, and some RPG fans might be going ga-ga over an import of that game, other players who may love the Role Playing Game genre should not overlook Xenosaga Episode I: Der Wille zur Macht from Namco–a game with a decidedly complex storyline and polished in game visuals and cutscenes.
Based on the original game Xenogears, this new title is heavily based on sci-fi themes and an intricate, multi-layered plot. The story starts out …
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Game Reviews by Jim Giorgio on May 27th, 2003
Star Wars certainly is a mega-franchise. Not counting the films, the galaxy far, far, away has shown up in toys, lunchboxes, and other assorted paraphernalia. One thing that we didn’t have when the original trilogy made its way through the theater was a videogame based on the films.
That has changed dramatically over the last six or seven years with numerous Star Wars games coming to several different platforms. Arguably, many of those games were shoddy and fans agreed that they were not repre…
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Game Reviews by Jim Giorgio on May 21st, 2003
Rayman 3: Hoodlum Havoc is by all intents and purposes is a platform game, but video gamers should not just assume they have another plain-vanilla platformer on their hands. On the contrary, although Rayman 3 is another platform title, the slick graphics, neat music, and top notch voice acting make it a game worth checking out.
Most Playstation owners have undoubtedly come across Rayman at some point in their gaming lives whether it was the original Rayman on the PSOne or those e…
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Game Reviews by Jim Giorgio on May 10th, 2003
Man, talk about your old school inspired shooters! Ikaruga, from Atari and for the Nintendo GameCube, is one of the coolest side-scrolling shooters to date on any of the three platforms. Placing gamers inside a spaceship up against waves of enemy fighters and mother ships, players can use several different cannons and missiles to take down the enemy swarm. Strap in, and get ready to ride!
Graphics
Originally developed for the arcade and the now ill-fated Sega DreamCast console,…
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Game Reviews by Jim Giorgio on May 10th, 2003
Looking for a fast racer that has some of the best detailed wild crash sequences? Then look no further than Burnout 2: Point of Impact, out now on the Nintendo GameCube. Anyone who is a fan of the Ridge Racer series of games on the PS2 owes it to themselves to check out Burnout 2 and see what all the talk is about. Detailed cities and tracks, well modeled vehicles, and some great in-game physics when it comes to fast cars slamming into objects and demolishing.
Graphics
Ap…
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Game Reviews by Jim Giorgio on May 9th, 2003
Rumblin’ time is here for the Xbox videogame console and Tao Feng from Microsoft may have just have you whooping it up with great combos, slick graphics, and interesting game characters. New this month, Tao Feng is Microsoft’s answer to the Tekken series which calls the PS2 home.
Developed by the guys that brought you Mortal Kombat, players can select fighters from one of two factions in the game: the Pale Lotus and the Black Mantis. Each of these sects has strong …
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Game Reviews by Jim Giorgio on May 8th, 2003
The first person shooter has come quite a long way from the beginning days of the genre and it has seen some interesting additions to its mode of play. Although one might argue that on the one hand that FPS games are fundamentally the same as they were back then, new titles on the market like Red Faction II introduce new and better features which keep the genre fresh and exciting.
Players can pick up Red Faction II out now for their Xbox video game console and experience some down right fun bl…
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Game Reviews by Jim Giorgio on May 8th, 2003
The first person shooter has come quite a long way from the beginning days of the genre and it has seen some interesting additions to its mode of play. Although one might argue that on the one hand that FPS games are fundamentally the same as they were back then, new titles on the market like Red Faction II introduce new and better features which keep the genre fresh and exciting.
Players can pick up Red Faction II out now for their Nintendo GameCube video game console and experience some down…
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Game Reviews by Jim Giorgio on May 8th, 2003
Last fall when Grand Theft Auto: Vice City came out for the PS2, gamers got to witness a myriad of gameplay options. Not only could you shoot, beat up, hold up, and run down people virtually everywhere, but another big draw to the game was the fact that you could jack any car, anywhere, and haul ass around town in it.
Now Rockstar Games has recreated the racing parts of the Grand Theft Auto series and added some great extras in Midnight Club II–the sequel to Midnight Club–out …
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Game Reviews by Jim Giorgio on May 6th, 2003
Someone once said that 90 percent of life is maintenance and nowhere is that more true than in the new Xbox title, The Sims. For anyone who has been living in a cave for the last two and a half years, The Sims is a game that allows you to create a character and then oversee every aspect of their life–from shopping to sleep–and has been a smash hit on the PC, garnering awards and spawning add-on expansions packs galore.
People are so taken with the ability to create either little demons or an…
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