Fire Pro Wrestling Returns Review (PS2)

It’s taken a very long time for Fire Pro wrestling to make its way out of Japan. One Gameboy Advance game did get released but aside from that the series has been the realm of importers. Even when Fire Pro Returns was released outside of Japan is was so hard it find in Europe that it may as well not have been. Canny Europeans though have been able to get hold of the game by setting up American PSN accounts and downloading it from the store. It’s well worth the effort.

Fire Pro is a very different type of wrestling game than those brought up on the Smackdown franchise will be used to. To start with it has a 2D retro look and hasn’t really moved forward in this respect since the days of the SNES version of the game. What it does allow though is mass customisation in terms of creating wrestlers and programming them with logic. The best thing about this is that there are numerous edit packs online that you can download to fill up the five hundred create a wrestler slots. Unlike previous games in the series you’ll need to do this if you are a fan of the big American wrestling franchises.

Fire Pro R mainly focuses on the Japanese associations and though there are a few legends around like Andre the Giant there is far from the roster of American favourites found in other versions of the game. The process is now a little more difficult as the main fan maintained website (Fire Pro Club) is no longer in operation so you’ll have to look around for the many wrestler packs converted to both PSN and PS2 memory card format (though Fire Pro Arena still is). There are many sites out there that explain this whole process and we found it very easy to get to grips with. It basically boils down to finding a save you want to use as your base save and then loading any other saves into memory card slot 2 and using the in game importer to move over any wrestlers that you want.

In terms of how the game plays it uses a simple but effective grappling system. There is no button mashing with wrestlers locking up when they touch. From that moment whoever inputs the command the quickest wins the grapple and attempts to execute the move. You can try and use any move you like at any time with the caveat being that if your opponent is not worn down enough they will likely reverse it. There is also a wide range of turnbuckle and running moves, Ground attacks, MMA style manoeuvres on the mat and you can even dive in and out of the ring. The Japanese wrestlers in the game are wide ranging is style and it can be fun just messing around with them as they are often very different from what western grapple fans have come to expect.

As well as moves and styles there are a host of different match types you can try out. Survivor Series style eliminations matches are possible along with exploding land mine and barbed wire death matches and MMA and round based bouts in an octagon. There are also cage matches though the AI is somewhat broken and will simple run out of the cage straight away if you leave the ‘escape’ option on for a victory condition. The big thing for this version of the game is a booking simulation mode which lets you try and create events which go over well with fans. It’s interesting but we found ourselves leaving it quite quickly. The down side is that this mode has replaced any type of single player tournament mode so any matches you will be having will be set up by you. This is a real shame as the title tournaments in Fire Pro D allowed you to go through and face everyone in turn which gave you a good idea of which wrestlers would be fun to go and try out.

You can create your own title belts but the mode is somewhat bare bones as your champion won’t even take the belt into the ring with them and can only defend the title in the type of match you have the initially set the belt to be defended in. There are other issues as well with the translation of the logic settings being completed botched for the most part. A number of the skill parameters and behaviour settings don’t actually relate to anything like what they would appear to.

There are of course community guides out there but it’s difficult when you are initially trying to get to grip with everything. So Fire Pro R does require some work from the player to get the most out of it. You’ll need to find some save packs for WWF/E, WCW, TNA ect and make sure you can find them converted to the right file type. You’ll also need to do a bit of reading around if you want to create your own creations and get them to act like you want them to. But it is worth it as for a fairly short amount of time spent you can end up with five hundred odd of your favourite wrestlers to carry out matches with.

Overall, Fire Pro R may not initially be the friendliest of games for newcomers but it’s certainly one of the best wrestling games of all time once you have it set up. You’ll find yourself going back to tinker with things and setting up tournaments to watch your creations take each other on. The in ring action never seems to get old and there has never been a game with such dream match potential as this. The Smackdown franchise may have the glitz and glamour but Fire Pro R has unrivalled gameplay and we’ve lost countless hours to it.

Overall 9/10

Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Chaos Bleeds (PS2)

Like it or loath it the television series of Buffy the Vampire Slayer should be a good source to make a decent game from, vampires, kung fu, good vs evil and half decent looking women seem like a near infallible combination from which to create an entertaining piece of software. The original Xbox title was decent enough without really being anything truly notable and if you are not a fan of the series there was little to attract you to it, so when the second installment in the all kicking slayer’s gaming adventures fell onto the desk there was a hope that it could actually be ok. Oh dear how wrong we where…

So we have a game which should at least be slightly above average, large levels full of monsters to be hacked and staked, a wide range of weapons and enemies and numerous characters to take control of. Yet despite all of this what emerges is one of the worst games to have ever been made, so let’s begin the postmortem.

First of all, if a developer is making a game closely related to a very popular television show it would seem common sense for you characters to look something like their on screen images, not here though, out of proportion bodies coupled with distorted faces means characters just do not look how they are should. Furthermore, all the voices used are not from the real actors so again instead of Michel Geller you get some strained American half sound alike girl, now this is far from satisfactory when making a title which is predominantly for fans and is lazy and inexcusable.

Let us move onto the next abomination- how the characters play. While each character has a fairly solid, if limited range of punches and kicks there are big gameplay spoiling issues all over the place. First of all every character seems to play almost exactly like every other character which just is not right considering Buffy is a massively strong slayer, Willow is a weak but magically strong witch and when Xanda punching a vampire sends them spinning around in the air it just reinforces the idea that different skins have been placed over the same combat template.

Combat itself has its own set of problems, for a start punches and kicks do not flow very well meaning you are always open to attack after landing your initial strikes and when surrounded by a large amount of opponents you can find yourself being knocked around without ever having a chance to fight back. The title also contains one of the most fascinatingly awful cameras in history. The camera is fully movable by the player but somehow always manages to be right in front of your character so you cannot see a thing and no matter what, enemies will always attack from somewhere you cannot see them, seemingly spinning out of thin air from a place you walked past two seconds before.

So that is bad controls, camera, graphics, sound and combat what’s left?  Level design. Where to start? If you’re not walking around levels that seem completely out of place with the series doing frustratingly dull things that were dull ten years ago then it’s the incredible long levels where you get attacked endlessly by vampires and demons that look exactly the same. It would not be so bad but when a level near enough takes one painful hour of your life to get through it would have been nice to be able to save your game before the end of it. There are continue points but you can only stop the pain and turn the machine off after completing one whole section of shocking boredom.

Buffy: Chaos Bleeds is a shocking game, a turgid stinking pool of primordial ooze that would take millions of years to evolve into anything remotely resembling something that is worth playing. Truly, they just do not make games this bad anymore; in fact they never made games this bad (perhaps with the exception of ET). The only good thing you can say is that it does not contain any ‘bugs’ but then again there is not exactly anything that feels finished about this title to have bugs in.

It’s hard to express how terrible this game is and it is made all the worse due to the fact that it should be near impossible to create such a shocking result from such a rich resource. Avoid it at all costs as you will have more fun sitting in a chair rocking back and forth, strangely the effect this game has had on almost all that have played it.

Overall 2/10

Contra: Shattered Soldier Review (PS2)

Continuing the legacy which stretches back to the good old days of eight bit gaming comes a timely re-introduction of the contra series to an all new generation. So can old school hardcore action still cut it in the days of Max Payne and endless tomb raider sequels? Well in part at least you bet it can.

The next generation of the contra series sticks to the formulae laid down by its predecessors. What we get is a classic side scrolling shooter updated with a 3D graphics engine to make everything look ever so lovely. The screen is filled with all manner of projectiles aimed at you all at once. This coupled with some weird as hell aliens and monsters all adds up to a very satisfying and stylish look to the new incantation of the contra franchise.

Just in case the adrenaline level wasn’t quite high enough the relentless heavy metal soundtrack is cranked up to a level that threatens to blow the speakers straight out of your TV. Add to this some of the most satisfying explosions in gaming history and you find yourself in a game designed to get your heart pumping and your trigger finger itching for more and more.

Gameplay wise you would be hard pressed to find a more responsive control system. Which is lucky as you get about point five of a second to avoid incoming fire as some big creation bursts onto the scene. This coupled with some smart innovations such as being able to lock your fire in a certain position and being able to change quickly between three different styles of weaponry help give you a fighting chance. If only a little one.

The main problem with Contra is the fact that although it’s a very difficult game, it just isn’t very long. You get seven levels, each containing some over the top antics involving flying on a missile, or chasing a train on a high speed bike or even destroying a full screen size killer robot jet skier. But there just isn’t enough of it. The other problem is that while in lifespan of the PS2 Contra was a breath of fresh air, the Super Nintendo version is still better in terms of imagination.

Overall, even though it’s short we would prefer to play this again than play a twenty hour version of whatever the next generic platformer/adventure/fps is. It’s over the top, loud and violent. Basically it’s Contra running on a PS2.

Overall 7/10

Whiplash Review (PS2)

Another day, another 3d platform title hits the shelves. At least this time however, the developers have aimed to make a game that stands out from the normal hum drum trudge of 3D muck we are so often presented with. ‘Whiplash’ is the story of a Weasel and a Rabbit who break free from a scientific lab and rush for freedom. The two are Hand cuffed together and this is where the twist comes in, the weasel (Redmond) is obviously considerably larger than his rabbit counterpart, he is also completely insane- thus he uses the poor rabbit (Spank) as a kind of medieval war mace. If you have ever dreamed of bashing a scientist to death with a live rabbit this could well be the game for you.

If nothing else the concept of a mad rabbit-wielding weasel is at least an interesting one. The rest of title follows the same over-the-top mad cap style as our heroes rush around trying to free other creatures trapped in the lab (Hamster cannons anyone?). The style of the game is completely insane and there is genuine humour that comes through on numerous occasions. However, with regards to the main characters there is only so many times you can hit someone with a rabbit before it simply is not funny any more. It may be hard to believe, but it does ware thin quickly.

The graphical style fits the theme well with decently animated characters all looking slightly insane and uttering stupid things. Levels are full of destructible scenery to be smashed and there is a decent variety of enemies to fight and creatures to rescue, each more tortured and mad than the last. While the look of the game as a whole is varied from area to area individual levels do have a habit of looking familiar all too soon and follow the basic format of a central hub, with various doors leading off them.

Movement and combat is solid enough, though at times it can be a touch tricky to do exactly what you want to- this is mainly caused by the camera being at some highly irregular angle. This does not happen often and the camera can be moved using the right analogue stick should it become too much of an irritation. Combat is fun yet limited, though you theoretically have a wide range of moves to amass and use it seems highly unlikely you will deviate to far from the standard practice of hammering the X button to dispatch foes.

Our heroes have a wide range of moves with which to navigate the lab, including the standard double jump etc found in all platform titles by this time. There are also more unique moves such as the ability to scurry along wires and zip line using the handcuffs. Think Prince of Persia with a Weasel and Rabbit set in a scientific lab, without the time manipulation and you would not be to far wrong.

Indeed the comparisons do not stop there, most of the levels in Whiplash, Like Prince of Persia, need our heroes to climb to the top of something. Whatever the something may be, it is normally a round shape and involves a section of scurrying, a section of jumping and hooking onto something and a section of double jumping. 

Here lies the biggest problem with Whiplash. No matter what you are doing it all feels like exactly the same thing after a while. You walk along hit some things, jump this, hover over that, hit this, and hook onto that. The formula is repeated in every single level in an almost identical pattern. One Hub section has you doing exactly the same thing in the five corridors leading off to other rooms and it just seems pointless and dull after a while. The few decent ideas in the title have been stretched way too thinly across the somewhat huge game, leaving you with a feeling of ‘so what?’ before long.

The Ideas behind Whiplash are good and there is no denying that the title is fun in small bursts. But in the end the absolutely crushing level of repetition just turns the whole thing into a dull exercise. If levels had been more focused it would not have been such a problem, but there are simply too many unnecessary sections in there. Each section contains the same ideas, repeated over and over and over again. Whiplash is by no means a bad game but is way behind the market leaders. The title is worth playing as it represents an original idea, unfortunately though, that originality has not been converted into an overall original gaming experience.

Overall 5/10

Music 3000 Review (PS2)

Starting out life on the PSOne the music series has allowed non-PC owners the chance to create music of their choice for a few years now. While the original music releases where comprehensive in terms of samples and what you could do to your created master piece the interface and bemusing assortment of options often left people confused and not able to engage with what should be a fun and creative experience. So does the latest PS2 version offer anything new to the aspiring musician? And can it really offer anything against a few instruments and a PC?

Well yes and no really, obviously the PC is the tool of choice for anyone really serious about trying to make music, the amount of programmes and diversity present along with the fact you can record instruments from source along with numerous other things means anyone really serious about making a music demo should use what is on offer in the home computer market. However, if you have a passing interest in music and often wondered if you had it in you to create a musical master piece in your spare time this could well fit the bill.

First of all there are a lot more samples available for this version of music, whatever type of music you want to make is represented and you can take parts from various genres to create something new. Basically, this is music as you know it on PSOne just with more of everything, more sounds, more remixing tools and while good for Music veterans, is not so great in the big scheme of things. Countless games and programmes over the years have produced sequels using almost identical control systems. This is fine if the interface is perfect, however with the music series it is clear that the interface is not perfect and could really have done with being refined a touch, if anything the controls in Music 3000 are even trickier than before. So much so that half the time you really do not know what you are doing as the layout just seems to be completely illogical.

One nice inclusion is the lessons option; this takes you from the basics through to more complex operations step by step. Apart from taking you through all the functions available it really does show just how ridiculous the control system is, move this with the right analogue stick, then move that with the cursor (not the left analogues stick oh no) then press that with R3 then move that. You get the idea. Absolutely no attempt has been made to turn the control pad into part of the musical process, instead it acts as a barrier to inspiration and makes the process so lifeless and frustrating that even when you know what the programme can do it is so hard to do it you may find yourself just not bothering.

Everything you need to make the perfect tune is hidden somewhere in this programme, after the initial creation has been laid down you can remix it and do all manner of small adjustments and additions from changing the pitch and tone of an individual note to altering a beat, you name it, you can do it and with the game offering support for a microphone you can sing vocals onto it as well. All you need is patience and persistence to overcome the controls and eventually you may find there is a lot of fun to be had from the title. You can also get a USB attachment allowing more samples and tracks to be downloaded as well meaning an almost limitless amount of material will at any PS2 DJ’s disposal, so this at least makes Music 3000 close the gap on PC software, if only a little bit.

As well as the music, you can also mess around with visuals for your brand new tune, you can alter which field objects move in and pick from a large selection of images. The option is available to randomly create visuals should you be lacking in inspiration and directorial flair as well, another area which manages to raise the programme up a notch from its last incantation.

Overall, Music 3000 is both very good and shockingly bad, the controls are some of the worst we have ever come across and are so bad that they really undermine the creative process of putting together a piece of music. That said what is In the programme is excellent for the PS2 and for anyone without a PC this may well be all you need to start creating some well put together efforts. But be warned in order to find all the brilliance present you have to really be patient and you have to ask yourself simply can you be bothered to put up with the controls? If the answer is yes you will find a rewarding, if frustrating, musical experience awaits you.

Overall 6/10

Wallace and Gromit in Project Zoo Review (PS2)

Over the years we have seen countless tie in titles to numerous films and television programmes and it is fair to say that more often than not the same few things can be said about them, first of all they are nearly always platform games and secondly they are nearly always rushed out to cash in on hype and end up being worse than a collective bunch of army men games. So imagine the slight veil of dread that hung around us when a 3d platform title centred on the ever-popular Wallace and Gromit appeared.

However, the one thing which brought a slight feeling of hope was the fact that Wallace and Gromit did not really have anything to promote, the game coming years after the original films where created and would need to be able to stand on its own merits to keep fans interested and stop the market as a whole ignoring the title out of hand.

The story goes that the evil penguin that appeared in classic film ‘The Wrong Trousers’ has taken over the Zoo of Wallace and Gromit’s friend Monty and has all the animals doing his dirty work for him. It is up to Wallace, but more importantly Gromit to save the animals and stop the evil penguin once and for all. Players control the heroic dog of the pairing, but in a twist to the normal platform formula Wallace must be lead to certain areas in order to make or fix anything requiring a more mechanically minded person.

It is clear right from the start that project zoo is far more than just another quick cash in rushed out to make some money. Clearly a lot of thought has gone into the presentation with the developers making sure everything has the right look and feel to it, meaning fans of the series will quickly become lost in a whole world of creature comforts. Most impressive of these are the perfectly animated cut scenes that appear at numerous points in order to keep the story progressing in a very Wallace and Gromit tone. Not only is the animation spot on but both scripting and style are also of an excellent standard, so much so that the game seems more like a new film rather than a series spin off.

Set across twenty-three missions based around six worlds the platform action is a mixture of the slightly original and things that we have seen a fair few times before. Essentially, each level comes down to the same thing- Gromit must go around collecting cogs, bolts and tools, Wallace must then be called to a place where these things can be used to fix or make something, thus allowing Gromit to continue on. Not exactly groundbreaking stuff but none the less it helps the the game stand out a bit.

Gromit himself has a wide variety of moves with which to move himself around the levels. Reminiscent of the type of movement Jak was afforded in the first Jak and Daxter title Gromit can roll, crouch, high jump and a number of other things not a million miles away from other titles. Saying that however there are a few nice little moves in there as well. Gromit is able to do a Devil May Cry 2 style run up the wall type move, which is a touch amusing to watch considering Dante and Gromit are not exactly the same type of hero. Various weapons are also on offer such as banana cannons and while all the moves and ideas are not that original they all come together to form a decent enough package that feels a little different.

A small problem that shows its self from time to time is that Gromit is a touch slow and clumsy when executing moves, this is due to the fact one animation must be completed before allowing our hero to initiate the next. This means that doing long jumps can be a touch tiresome as Gromit must roll and then jump exactly at the end of the roll animation as pressing the jump button while in mid roll simply does not initiate the jump command. This problem shows itself is other places as well but on balance throughout the title the times where this occur are few and most of the time they do not lead to death or injury.

When looking at Wallace and Gromit project zoo it is difficult to see what could have been done (a few niggling problems aside) to improveit. The big question surrounding it is ‘will the fans like it?’ and the answer to that is a big yes, there is so much Wallace and Gromit charm on show that any self respective fan of the duo should really go out an purchase it as it acts as more or less as another film with all the cut scenes. Furthermore, there are a host of extras to be unlocked and to top it off the game is not bad either. Project Zoo acts to show how a license can be done if put in the right hands.

Overall 7/10

 

Curious George Review (PS2)

Many months after the film Curious George received its cinema release the game of the film was released. We were expecting an average identikit three-dimensional platform game and apart from a few adventure elements that is what we have.

Let us make this clear from the start, Curious George, like the film is very much aimed at kids and very young kids at that. So it is a little surprising to see it has a PG certificate on it as it contains ‘potentially dangerous behaviour’ you couldn’t make it up.

The game itself has George the very cute and very curious monkey following the man with the yellow hat back from Africa and discovering all manner of things on the way. The main level design for the game has the little monkey running around very bland levels picking up bananas and swinging on ropes. Every now and then you get something a little different such as having to sneak around, jump across cars or dancing for sailors. It is all handled very by the numbers and the game really starts to get boring quite quickly.

Throughout the levels there are a number of things that George can interact with to get curious points. After each interaction a small animation takes place where what ever the object is does something- but it is all very bland and objects are heavily repeated throughout levels. The points you gain can be spent on unlocking mini games and clothes for George but there is nothing there really worth your time.

Where the game does stand up very well is the looks department. All the levels are very colourful and clearly defined in the same style as the movie so authenticity on that count has been handled very well. An average but colourful game could have been forgiven for the very young audience that this is obviously aimed at but for the slightly dodgy controls.

Unlike a lot of titles the camera actually works very well and is easily moved around to where you want it but the inconsistent jump button will cause a lot of frustration. It seems almost a matter of luck whether you can get little George to perform his double jump or not. A lot of the time he simply will not make the second jump and you find yourself thrown back to the last checkpoint to try again. This is a shame as the controls on the whole hold up well.

No doubt many young gamers could overlook this but what many will not is the length of the game. There are only twelve relatively short levels to get through which should take no more than a couple of hours at most. The game was on the shelves at a budget price but this is still stretching it a bit for such a paltry amount of game time. The levels themselves do not vary much in design either, they nearly all have crates in to climb up and some kind of rope that needs to be swung on and no amount of colour can disguise the fact that they have been adapted from the same template.

We can see the appeal that Curious George may have for very young gamers who are fans of the film or television series. But anyone else or children who have grown up with gaming will become bored very quickly. The levels may be colourful but are simply too bland and uninspiring to hold interest for any length of time. When there are so many excellent platform games out there on the PS2 we simply cannot recommend this to anyone.

Overall 4/10

The Simpsons Hit and Run Review (PS2)

In recent memory the Simpson’s licence has been tacked on to just about any old piece of tat going, from the ‘alleged’ ripping of the crazy taxi formula in road rage to rubbish wrestling games. In fact the last time the Simpson’s got a proper run out was way back in the days of eight bit gaming with platformer Bart vs. the Space Mutants.

One of the better attempts came in the form of this Grand Theft Auto based game. Now on the surface this may seem a strange choice and a fair few changes have had to be made to keep everything from getting too violent. So GTA without the violence in a Simpson’s world? Dear lord what have we let our selves in for?

Hit and Run may be a copy of yet another popular and commercially viable formula with a tacked on gimmick but it would be harsh to dismiss the title out of hand. In reality Hit and Run only borrows certain things from GTA and in fact bares little resemblance to Rock Star North’s classic title.

The game sets players a number of missions in a set area. Driving from one place to another and then driving somewhere else is generally all that is needed to complete these tasks. There is little in the way of the on foot sections found in GTA and even the driving missions are only recognisable in an abstract sense.

Each area of the game has players controlling one of the Simpson’s family as they go about their driving, once a set number of missions have been completed it’s onto the next area where a different member of the family does much the same. While there are things to do other than the main missions the freedom of other titles in this genre really show up Hit and Run, indeed apart from looking for collectible cards and the odd hidden gag event to trigger there really is not anything worth aimlessly wondering the streets of Springfield to find. This really effects the long term appeal as the missions will only take an experienced player a couple of days to get through.

However, what the game does, it does relatively well with the environment of Springfield well recreated with everything more or less where is should be and recognisable characters from the series all making themselves present at one point or another. The handling of the cars is very much in the realms of arcade, but the vehicles handle well and generally do what you want them to. At least the basics have been completed to a competent degree, something that cannot be said about almost every other Simpson’s title.

Unfortunately there just is not enough in the game to make it a worthwhile purchase as a game in its own right. After the first few areas, missions begin to feel repetitive and moments of humour are too far apart to keep players wanting to go on to see what happens next. This coupled with the fact that most missions seem to have nothing to do with the overall plot and the fact that said plot is so dull that you do not care anyway only pulls the title down further into the realms of the exceedingly average.

For fans of the series there is the odd bit of replay value, new costumes and vehicles can be purchased and there is always the hope that the next gag event that you find will actually amount to more than something simply falling over or blowing up. For the real diehard fan there is an unseen episode of the Itchy and Scratchy cartoon to be bought once all the collectible cards have been found. Apart from these odd bits there is really little else here apart from the samey main missions, even going on a wild spree of knocking down innocent people holds little reward as the cops simply come and fine you before letting you on your way again.

Overall, Hit and Run is both a surprise and a disappointment. It is nice to see a Simpson’s game that finally is worth playing. Unfortunately, it is only worth playing for a few hours because anything after that falls into the realms repetition. The basic gameplay dynamic has been implemented competently but that isn’t really enough.

Overall 5/10

Smackdown! Here Comes The Pain Review (PS2)

Wrestling is a strange beast – most people simply don’t understand the appeal; for the rest of the world it provides an entertaining spectacle that simply cannot be matched by your average episode of East Enders or Coronation Street. Imagine how much more entertaining an episode of the popular cockney soap would be if in one episode Phil Mitchell and Dot Cotton started hitting each other with steel chairs before both were power-bombed through a table by an angry Alfie Moon – now that’s entertainment! 

Smackdown! Here Comes the Pain is the fifth instalment in the (at the time), generally excellent Smackdown series and was where, instead of resting on its laurels, THQ have tried to develop the franchise through a number of changes to the core gameplay. A very brave move, considering Smackdown! already contained possibly the most flexible fighting system available in a wrestling title(aside from Fire Pro and No Mercy of Course), –this, along with a few new additions, means the revision bears less resemblance to its predecessors than many were expecting.

The first thing that grabs you upon booting the game is how much the graphics have improved. Characters are far more detailed than before and feel a lot more solid when moving and fighting. This is a good thing, although we feel this may have contributed to issues regarding the roster and some of the superstars’ entrance music at the time. 

However, THQ were always onto a loser in terms of inclusions this time round, because this is where the two brands of Smackdown! and RAW  split; meaning the roster is divided straight down the middle. This leads to ‘sub-par’ superstars being involved in minor storylines and, despite a roster of over fifty-five wrestlers, there are still a number of glaring omissions for the time such as then, women’s champion Molly Holly; ex-tag champions La Resistance; and the world’s strongest man Mark Henry, to name a few.

Problems also exist with music on the superstars’ entrances with some of it being very date and particularly suffering through loss of lyrical content – leading us to believe that corners were cut during development. Perhaps it would be unfair to lay these problems squarely at THQ’s feet, because it relates moreover to limitations placed upon the ageing PS2 hardware, which it must be said, delivers to the best of its abilities – once you have explored what is actually in the game.

Spurious and cosmetic concerns aside, almost everything that matters in the game has been improved; the grapple system has been updated and though it feels strange at first, soon proves more flexible than before – allowing players to have a greater idea of what sort of move they are going to pull off in the heat of battle. A further improvement is evident in the way superstars’ attributes are applied as now there is a huge difference between a lumbering big man and a nimble small man, and if a weaker character tries to lift a heavyweight it will physically be prevented – likely injuring their backs and ending in (animated) pain. A nice touch.

Other noticeable improvements with the physics engine see players prone to taking damage upon specific areas of the body. This helps with both submission-holds and also limits the movement range of your opponent. Injure someone’s head badly enough and a well-placed blow will see the superstar bleed – not massively, but enough to inspire organic belief that realism is flowing through the title’s gaming marrow. Additionally, we are delighted with the improvements made to the submission system; instead of characters just performing a move for mere seconds, now depending on your submission-rating the move can be held for long periods of time (and by hitting any button). Likewise, your opponent can try and escape the hold by doing the same – a small touch, but one that makes a huge difference to the feel of matches. 

After listening to fans’ grievances from previous titles, a number of bona fide legends have also been included in this version of Smackdown! Admittedly, you can’t please everyone, because over the years there have been thousands of WWE superstars, but it’s fair to say that most would be pleased with the inclusions; Superfly Jimmy Snukka, The Legion of Doom and Roddy Piper (along with others) deserve their place, but we raised an eyebrow at the inclusion of Hillbilly Jim, and a couple of others. 

Speaking of irregularities – Hulk Hogan was with the WWE when the game went into development and appears in early promotional shots of the title, yet when Hogan left he was removed from the title. Honestly, Hulk Hogan is possibly the most popular wrestler of all time, surely he could have been included as an unlockable legend? 

Notwithstanding, Smackdown! Here Comes the Pain features just about everything you could want from a wrestling title (presentational issues aside). New match types such as the elimination chamber, and a revised control system, mean that unlike other WWE titles appearing on other formats, this one can stand up in its own right as an accomplished game – and one that people outside of its hardcore fanbase should have some fun with. Technological barriers prevent Smackdown! from reaching its full potential, but nonetheless this is a great release that would even appeal to those who own the last instalment in the series. It’s probably the peak of the series as the games only seemed to get worse after this.

Overall 8/10

Midnight Club 2 Review (PS2)

While driving one night you come across a modified sports car weaving through traffic and causing havoc on the road. Intrigued you investigate determined to find a way into the allusive Midnight Club. After bringing the mystery driver to a halt he dares you to meet him at midnight, the stage is set, pride, glory and some very expensive cars are yours for the taking, all you have to do is win….

Set across Los Angeles, Paris and Hong Kong, Midnight Club 2 sets you in a huge free roaming environment. As well as the usual arcade and two player modes you get a much more interesting story model. In the story mode you must travel around a city looking for other racers before following them to the race location. Races come in a variety of types, some are simply a case of racing from one point to another as fast a possible, while others see you needing to hit a number of checkpoints spaced out around the area meaning you have to plan the most effective rout to succeed.

What the developers have pinned their hopes on in the over crowded world of racing games is the twist of being able to go anywhere you want as long as you reach the end before the other racers. Furthermore, beat a racer and you then get to use their car meaning you have a large selection of super vehicles to choose from each with different strengths and weaknesses. The problem is that even though you have the whole city at your disposal there is really only one rout for each race as moving off in search of short cuts often leads to you ending up in completely the wrong place.

First of all lets make something very clear, Midnight Club 2 has some of the worst graphics we have seen in a PS2 racing game. When you first turn it on you may well think you have dropped Driver 2 into the machine instead. Unsurprisingly, everything looks a lot like GTA: Vice City, however it seems as though the detail has been removed leaving somewhat empty shells of vehicles and surroundings. Having said that though after a couple of plays you begin to see through the graphics and they begin to take on a certain charm. Though lacking in detail there is no noticeable pop up, blurring or dodgy draw line distance to be found, essential to a game based around speed and sharp turning- so at least it is understandable why cosmetic graphics have been reduced as it allows the real core elements of the game to function properly.

Car handling is the most important thing with racing games and in this respect Midnight is both sublime and slightly off key. In game controls are incredible responsive allowing the player to perform exactly what they want to, when they want to with such an ease that even novice players will be hand brake turning round corners on virtually their first attempt. A few nice touches have been added that help to keep the element of fun in the game as well, for instance drive behind an opponent and it fills up a slip stream metre allowing you to boost past them at an opportune moment.

Where the game fails slightly though is with the way individual cars handle. While this is a game based more in the arcade area than that of simulation you cannot help but think that the cars handle a little off. We weren’t expecting Gran Turismo levels of realism but when model handling feels more lose than in the GTA games you know something is slightly a miss. Again this is nothing that really detracts from the game and can be easily forgiven as official licenses are not used for the cars and Midnight Club 2 never claimed to be the same type of game as Gran Turismo anyway.

However, what could sour the experience for gamers is the insane difficulty level, being a cross between Burnout 2 and Stuntman in style, things move very fast and races must be negotiated to near perfection in order to succeed. The amount of obstacles in the way could prove too much for novice racing gamers and courses become as much about learning where things are going to appear as beating the other racers. Every race follows the same pattern, you move along until you hit something that has just pulled in your way, you have to restart as once you have crashed catching up is incredibly difficult. So you set off again avoiding the first obstacle, before crashing into the next one and repeat until you reach the end of the race, just like in Stuntman, all you need is the voice telling you what is coming up ahead and you could well forget what game you’re playing at times.

Overall, Midnight Club 2 is a good game, yes it has flaws, it is far too difficult and the graphics and overall feel of the game do not seem quite right. But it still delivers incredible fast and controllable action with a slight twist that no other racer can really claim to have. The problem is most PS2 race fans will own Gran Turismo 3, Burnout 2 and Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit. Each game excelling in realism, speed or pure arcade action, Midnight Club 2 tries to incorporate a bit of each into the gameplay but ends up falling a touch short in each area. A huge improvement on the original game but Midnight Club 2 still cannot quite make it into the racing elite, all the elements are there, all that is needed is a bit more polish.

Overall 7/10

Everblue 2 Review (PS2)

Having never played the original game. Nor hearing much hype around the sequel I didn’t know what to expect from Everblue 2. Apart from assuming it had something to do with the sea that is. A definite break from the normal games clogging up the market Everblue comes as something of a refreshing change. On loading up the game you find yourself as a shipwrecked diver who has managed to make their way to local picturesque Valencia Island and this is where you start your journey of treasure hunting.

Everblue is split between wandering around the island and swimming through the sea each presented differently. The island section of the game is presented like a sort of point and click style adventure, though really its only function is to allow you to bye and sell different items and obtain the odd side mission such as retrieving a missing fishing real or membership card. As such the graphics are more functional than breathtaking. Backgrounds are static and the characters that inhabit the island have very few, if any animations.

This sets up a sharp contrast with the sea adventuring section of the game. On the whole everything looks lovely, the sea is alive with over seventy different types of fish and wildlife, all of which can be photographed and recorded should you so wish. The only problem with this section on the graphical front is that although the sea is blue and murky, it would be nice to be able to see more than about five feet in front of you. Suddenly coming across a completely sunken aircraft that wasn’t there one second before for example is a little disappointing. This unfortunate version of fogging coupled with the fact that an awful lot of the sea looks exactly the same can cause frustration when looking for certain areas or objects.

Sound wise the game is fairly bland, with all conversations taking place in a text only form. The only time there are any real sound effects are in the sea where you can hear the ocean moving past you or the sound of your sonar beeping, hardly inspiring stuff. Most disappointing of all is when you sea a great white shark there is only a vague ‘Jaws’ style theme to accompany it, and the sharks themselves don’t look that impressive or big.

Luckily however, the game does play extremely nicely. Though graphically dull the island section is easy to negotiate and it’s made fairly clear where you have to go or who you have to see. The diving section also plays quite well. You can move around easily in the water and there is a handy option that automatically points you towards anywhere you pick out on the world map. This helps to stop aimless wandering once you have located something of interest.

Although good, game play wise the game isn’t flawless by any means. To start with, while you can move around effortlessly, you can’t move up and down. This is very annoying and not exactly realistic, especially as all the fish around you can move up and down. Furthermore, the camera can be extremely irritating, sometimes you just cant see the big shark that’s attacking you or cant turn round to find the fish that you wanted to take a picture of as it swims over your head. This problem is again highlighted when you are inside a sunken ship as it’s very easy to forget what direction your going in. This often causes you to travel round in circles.

As a sort of diving role-play game, Everblue 2 works quite well. However, while the game certainly has the length to keep you occupied for a fair amount of time it’s debatable whether you will actually want to play the game through to the end. The problem lies in the story surrounding Everblue- It’s just not very interesting. You end up asking yourself if you really care if someone has lost a fishing reel. This coupled to the fact that the various locations in the game are so similar at times means you really aren’t pushed to see the next location just so you can retrieve a bit of treasure, it just doesn’t seem important

To sum up, Everblue 2 is by no means a bad game. Far from it, it contains a lot of charm and the diving bits are nice. The game just needs a bit more variety to keep you interested. What it does do very well is act as a sort of relaxation programme. Watching the fish float about and just wandering around the sea is much more fun than actually trying to complete the missions. Saying that, the game is a nice change to the constant fighting and blasting games around and a welcome addition to an over crowded market. It’s just disappointing, with a little more thought Everblue2 could have been amazing as it is, it’s just a nice diversion.

Overall 7/10

Yakuza Review (PS2)

Yakuza was a much anticipated and much misunderstood title since the early previews first started hitting the news. Early reports suggested the game was a spin off from the much-loved Shenmue. These reports then turned to a more watered down ‘inspired by Shenmue’ as time advanced. The truth is apart from having adventure elements and a fair few mini games the game bears little resemblance to Sega’s much missed franchise.

Instead of Shenmue light what we have here is a very violent, well-put together and highly entertaining tale of one man trying to piece together his life after ten years in jail. The man in question is Kazuma Kiryu, the once so-called ‘Dragon of the Dojima family’. Kazuma is an honour bound and stupidly tough Yakuza who as we see in the opening chapters on the game will do anything to protect those he cares for.

Once the story takes us to the emergence of Kazuma after his incarceration we find many things have changed. This is where the story really kicks in, as the player must try to piece together what has been going on in the ten years you have been away from the action. The story is well put together and apart from a few low points holds the interest of the player while painting the main characters of the piece with an unusual amount of depth, compared to what you normally find in a video game anyway.

The main section of the game comes in two parts. First off you get to wander around the town of Kamurocho looking for clues and mixing with the citizens. The second part of the game is where the main focus lays, the combat. Various gangsters and street scum will confront Kazuma as he goes about his investigations just asking to be pummelled senseless.

Combat at first seems a little limited but new moves and techniques can be gained as you level up various statistic bars as well as training with a martial arts master who you meet fairly early on. The only time things get repetitive is when random goons confront you on the street as you go from place to place. Most of the time you can run away from them but it can be a real pain when you are trying to get somewhere quickly and some street punk calls you name and tries to mug you.

The fighting system is nothing if not solid. Punches land with bone breaking thuds, faces get stamped on, guts get kicked and that’s before you bring into the equation the many weapons and the heat commands. Pretty much anything that can be picked up can be bashed over an enemy’s head, and there is an absolute plethora of knickknacks at hand. Bicycles, neon signs, golf clubs and samurai swords are only a few of things that can be used to inflict wince inducing damage upon your opponents causing them to emit delightful screams of pain.

Using the Heat commands brings a whole new world of hurt to the table. Once the heat meter is filled context sensitive action become available. For example grabbing hold of an enemy and moving him to a near by wall allows our hero to bash the unfortunate goon against it before stomping on their face when they slump to the ground. Later on the ability to use heat actions with weapons allows even more brutal actions to be administered to the low life populace.

Aside from the main quest there are multitudes of side quests that can be sought out. On first play through players may find the main narrative too much of a draw to go wandering around looking for lesser morsels of brutality. It is also very easy to overlook the amount of quests available, around a hundred in all.

Upon completion a whole range of extras are unlooked such as being able to wander around the city looking for side quests without the main quest active. If the wandering around is too much then you have the option of having the bad guys lined up before you in various themed matches such as fighting all the bosses, or lower yakuza family members.

What we have in Yakuza is a highly effective Japanese gangster story crammed into a PS2 game, and a visually impressive one at that. Taking on the groups of enemies is a joy as you very rarely tire of smashing them to bits as you really feel they are the scum of the earth and often want to keep kicking them even when they are out cold. Sega may not have brought us a new entry into the Shenmue series but what we have here is first truly effective update of titles such as Final Fight or Double Dragon. For that as well as many other reasons every PS2 owner should go out and get hold of a copy.

Overall 8/10

ICO Review (PS2)

Ico is a simple story of a cursed boy banished to ancient castle, and a strange girl who is the castles prisoner. Together the two must find a way to overcome the many traps and dangers and escape the giant citadel.

Ico is so simple it’s brilliant, you control the boy and must aid the girl as both of you explore the castle. Your character can climb and hang off ledges and do all the things you have come to expect from any game post Prince of Persia. To defend himself the boy has a simple stick, sometimes exchanged for a sword, but most of the time a stick. That is how you start the game and it is how you finish with no powering up, no magic spells, and no health packages lying around. Just a boy, a stick and a girl against all the huge overshadowing castle has to offer and this is a large part of what makes the game so sublime.

Everything graphically makes you feel very small, the colours are beautiful yet reserved, focusing on light and shadow, creating towering gothic environments of stone, each as picturesque as the last. The graphics could not have been more perfect if they had been hand painted by the greatest artist who ever lived, like the game they are beautiful and simple, Ico is a game of simplicity and subtlety and everything in it gently reinforces that fact.

Simplicity to the point where the girl is completely white and the monsters who appear to drag her back to her prison are just black shadowy silhouettes. You can’t get much more clear cut good and evil than that. Sound acts much in the same way, no constant techno in the background, just the faint whispering of wind as it swirls around the towers, and the occasional haunting melody as the shadow creatures rise from the ground.

The game itself sees you solving puzzle after puzzle in the castle, until you realise the castle itself is one big problem to solve, each puzzle completed acting to make the castle fall together until the whole thing is conquered. You find yourself bewitched into wanting to see the whole thing unfold but you won’t know why. That’s the thing about Ico you know you want to keep going, you know you can’t let the shadows have the girl, but you don’t know why, you can’t put your finger on it but it’s definitely there and it’s beautiful.

Ico is amazing, at times it sort of lulls you into a trance, you just become controlled by its magic. In the day and age of endless sequels this shines as an original piece of genius, more of a work of art than a game, it feels like someone’s private project that has been put together through a labour of love, I just can’t fault it.

Its not too long, or too short, its got exactly the right difficulty level and everything is perfect. When you do finish the game after the credits role you get the moment that makes the game a true grade A title, what that is you’ll just have to find out for yourself.A  pure perfection, a master class in games programming

Overall 10/10

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Ape Escape 3 Review (PS2)

Monkeys, there is just something about them that makes people laugh. If ordinary monkeys can entertain then adding a silly costume, a hat with a flashing light and using them to parody Hollywood can only be a recipe for success.

Ape Escape 3 works on the same premise as the first two titles in the series. Taking control of either a male or female character you must search around the levels catching a set amount of monkeys before being able to move on. This time around the levels are themed around various films ranging from Beauty and the Beast and Titanic to Howls Moving Castle and Star Wars. Only now monkeys play all the roles.

All the levels throughout the game are well designed and creative. There may not be strictly speaking anything truly ground breaking on show but what is here is highly enjoyable, with all the film set styled levels being well thought out. The difficulty is set fairly low, but even though you may not find yourself faced with death too often there are so many monkeys to catch and locations to get see that it hardly matters.

Playing through the title for the first time will probably take somewhere between six and eight hours depending on if you commit to catching all the monkeys from each stage. Once completed however more monkeys become available to catch along with the mini game ‘Mesal Gear’ which is more than enough to keep the players interest for a fair amount longer.

As the name suggests ‘Mesal gear’ is a parody of everyone’s favourite ageing stealth hero. Here we find that Snake has been captured and the only one who can save him is a highly trained monkey in a silly hat. What follows is a selection of sections taken from the regular Metal Gear titles re-made with monkeys. It sounds like the most stupid idea in the world but somehow it works.

Mountains of extras aside, the only major addition to the main gameplay comes in the form of the many themed personas that the player can take on. These allow your character to use special powers for a limited time such as wall running or firing pistols. Unfortunately, though it is a decent idea, in execution most places where the special powers need to be used are heavily signposted.

The main idea behind the Ape Escape series has always revolved around the use of the dual analogue sticks. The original playstation version of the game pioneered the approach and the gadgets on display here are still operated by using the sticks in a number of different ways (such as rotating through three-hundred and sixty degrees to hover for instance). However, the selection of gadgets available has hardly changed since the first title which is disappointing. This means that veterans of the series may find things a little too familiar for their liking.

Ape Escape 3 may not be about to set the platforming world alight but to dismiss the game (or indeed the series as a whole) would be incredibly short sighted. Although over familiar at times the title is always a highly enjoyable and imaginative affair. It may not be seen as an essential purchase by many but it certainly is a lot more fun than many other games. Ape Escape 3 is a good game filled with several tons of extras, three very good mini games and comes at a fairly cheap price. For those looking for some stress free monkey catching antics it is hard to think of a better place to turn to.

Overall 7/10

Kingdom Hearts 2 Review (PS2)

The first Kingdom Hearts was without doubt one of the best adventure games to grace the PS2. The strange mix of Square and Disney characters created a number of lush and interesting worlds for players to explore.  After a long delayed release Kingdom Hearts 2 it finally made its way to Europe, but was it worth the wait?

Right from the start the game throws players off by starting you in the form of Roxas, a young boy who lives in Twighlight town. Never fear, Sora will appear later but first we have a mini adventure. This serves to acquaint the player with the games controls and also sets out the themes of the title.

Presentation as you might expect is of an incredibly high order with striking representations of the Disney creations complete with some excellent voice over work. As before, many final fantasy characters appear throughout and as a nice touch most of the characters that appeared in the  FFVII Advent Children movie have the same voice actors. While the presentation of the game may be as excellent as ever the levels themselves are sadly a little lacking when compared to the first game.

Combat is the emphasis for this title with the many puzzles and platform sections of the original all but a memory. Difficulty has also been dropped a touch, though that is not necessarily a bad thing considering some of the insanity present before. As well as the standard physical and magical attacks available there are now new gauge and limit options. The gauge allows a second keyblade to be brought into action containing a whole new set of skills in a sort Disney version of a Chow Yun-Fat double pistol attack.

Limit attacks bring all the characters together to perform a high impact move on the enemy- often with quick time event style button pushes to prolong it. In certain situations the triangle button can be pressed to initiate a context sensitive attack, in boss battles this is always obvious as a very large and clear ‘Press Triangle’ sign appears over a Triangle shaped button. When fighting normal opponents however the triangle command appears fleetingly at the bottom left of the screen on the command menu and is far too easy to miss.

Although having such a wide range of moves is welcome their execution leaves something to be desired. Combat is so frantic and fast that most of the time it is completely impractical to cycle through a couple of menus in order to find the summon or limit break commands. Luckily they are not really necessary to fight your way to victory but you cannot help feel that the control system could have been a little more streamlined.

With the puzzles removed what we get is relentless combat followed by relentless combat, which if played in long sessions does become repetitive. This feeling is not helped by some uninspired level design and locations on occasion. With all the creations that Disney has license to you have to wonder why certain locations are repeated from the first game. They do have new stories but did we really need to go back to the Hercules level? I think not.

That is not to say there is not inspiration at work as well- the Steamboat Willie and Pirates of the Caribbean levels for example. You can’t help but feel that The developers have missed a few tricks here though with so many Disney movies not appearing in either game so far and that’s not to mention other IP’s such as Duck Tales or Darkwing Duck. What we have here for the most part is a very safe choice of levels.

This is the main feeling you get from the title. There are numbers of good and inspired moments but for each one you can’t help but think of something else that would have been better and players will no doubt end up feeling they have seen it before or that could have been handled with a touch more inspiration. Faults aside the title is highly enjoyable and well presented. For fans of the series there are sections here that are worth the entry fee. However, there is no getting away from the fact that first game simply contains more inspiration, more variety and more magic.

7/10

Spy vs Spy Review (PS2)

Many many years ago Spy VS Spy first appeared on home computer systems and consoles in the age of 8 bit entertainment. Offering a charming and amusing distraction as players tried to out wit one another. The premise was to steal a select number of objects and make you way to the level exit before the opposing spy. In order to hinder your opponent’s progress you could employ a number of trap devices to catch out the unaware and send them to a grizzly death. Now Spy Vs Spy has been dragged out of the cupboard and stuck on the shelves for a whole new generation. But on this evidence it really is a shame they bothered.

The single player aspect of Spy Vs Spy has our chosen agent making their way through a number of bland levels searching out objects, causing chaos, and engaging in 3D platforming antics. Why oh why was this ever made? The PS2 of all consoles really did not need yet another mind numbingly dull 3D platform-come-adventure game, even though the console is saturated with bland titles dare we say Spy Vs Spy sinks to even more uninteresting depths than most before it.

After playing the game for ten minutes we had already seen more than enough to make us fall asleep as wave upon wave of complete dullness battered against our heads in an ever repeating motion. After pressing through ever more dreary levels it was clear there is absolutely no enjoyment to be found. To make matters worse, not only are the levels dull but without a proper map you are sometimes left wandering around looking for where to go next (although there are helpful arrows that appear at times). Truly the feeling of wandering around a level with no clue where to go, just wishing you could find the exit, save the game and turn the thing off is one of the most depressing and desperate things the human mind is capable of feeling.

At least the controls are decent enough with characters being easy to move and the task of setting traps and weapons never feeling tricky. In game graphics, though uninspired, are fairly solid and colourful - if a little generic. As such, the game does not suffer from being ‘broken’, which in a way is even more shocking. If a game is over ambitious and suffers because an aspect is not implemented at least then you can have some idea as to where the vision was heading. Here everything seems to have been implemented competently from a basic perspective. The problem is that there is absolutely no imagination in anything. It's almost as if the developers really could not be bothered to make the game in the first place.

Multiplayer fairs little better, indeed when returning to the title and tossing a coin to see whether to play single or multiplayer all we could hope for was that the coin would somehow explode in mid air and kill us. Along with the new locations a selection of the original games rooms are available now in bland 3D. The action could be taken online or via a system link but trust us- you really won't want to. This title has to be in the running for the least enjoyable multiplayer experience of all time- wander around open something, put trap in, wander around, open something, put trap in, repeat until you die of boredom. Every aspect is just so bone crushingly soul destroying its enough to bring you to tears at times. There are a few modes such as death match, last man standing etc but when every thing is so mind numbing it hardly matters.

In conclusion there is absolutely nothing to recommend about this game. Even the Twenty pound price tag at launch is not enough to justify interest in it. There are certainly far better platform titles available (even Vexx pushes it close) and there are certainly far better multiplayer titles available as well. We advises never going near this uninspired dullard of a game, no matter how cheap you may find it in coming months. In closing all we can say is that this could well be one of the most truly awful games of the generation.
 

2/10