January 14, 2004

16

Need For Speed

Underground

>> EA Games 2003
kkk KH

Today I am here to review the latest
installment in the Need for Speed
series, Let me start by saying that that
this is by far the most intense racing
game that I have ever played. The
detail alone is enough to impress the
hell out of almost anyone. When you
hit the “nitrous” button, all the
scenery begins to streak by creating an
unbelievable sense of speed.
Unfortunately, however, the real bill-
boards lining the streets of any-city
USA is a little cheesy. Aside from that,
there are so many things that make
this game great.

At first entrance into the champi-
onship. “ynderground” you have little
to choose from. Your car is stock, and
your base colours are limited. But as
you progress through the races and
gain respect from your fellow racers,
you also unlock little bonuses. Add-
ons like turbo kits, engine fuel delivery
kits,. exhaust kits, suspension packages,
weight reduction kits, and nitrous
boost, which will: turn ‘your car into
the ultimate street racing machine.
Now, onto the visual cheese. Along
with mechanical upgrades you can
also unlock things like~ rims, neon
lights, tail lights, window tint, body
kits, spoilers, vinyls, and graphics.

Overall, I thought that this game
was fantastic. Even though I hate
these cars, I still enjoyed this game.

-- Zeek Bindertwine

>> EA Games 2003

kkk ke

Rallisport Challenge brings you the
exhilaration and excitement of Rally
racing. There are four different events
in the game. Rally is a simple, point-
to-point race against the clock, hill
climb is a rally up the side of a‘moun-
tain, rallycross is rally around-a cir-
cuit, and ice racing is rallycross on ice.

The courses offer some decent vari-
ety, and are generally well-designed.
Unfortunately, they are also rather
short and fairly easily memorized.
This is something of a benefit,
because it means that you won’t be as
reliant on your co-driver, who is prone
to giving inaccurate and/or poorly
timed directions.

The graphics are generally quite
good. The tracks and environments
are nicely detailed, complete with
wildlife. The cars are well-modeled,
with some limited damage modeling.
Exhaust backfires look good, but par-
ticle effects are ugly. Those pretty
graphics take some mean power to
run, however, particularly when rac-
ing against AI drivers. The sound is
not so great; engines sound weak and
shifting sounds painful, although there
are some fairly good effects for skid-
ding and sliding.

The, physics are somewhat relaxed
but the cars still seem to exhibit fairly
realistic handling. The AI drivers are
decent, though rather inconsistent.

Overall, Rallisport Challenge is a
fun, though flawed, game.

- Brad Prangnell

War of the Ring
>> Sierra 2003

Kk

The Dark Lord of Mordor is
returning and it will take the com-
bined efforts of the peoples of Middle
Earth, not to mention one hobbit in
particular, to drive him _ back.
Following the major battles from the
Lord of the Rings, the game War of
the Ring focuses on campaigns which
take place within the book.

The gameplay is very similar to
Warcraft II. You build buildings and
units, buy upgrades, and mine for
resources, food, and ore in this game.

‘Most of the units have racial varia-

tions in single player, and players are
limited to one hundred points worth
of troops at any given time and most
of the troops take up 2-3 points to
have on the ficld. ,

There are also legendary characters
from the books such as Gimli, Legolas,
and Gandalf. Each of these: charac-
ters can hold thcir own in intense
combat and kceping’them alive is not
always a priority in levels. Each of
these characters have multiple special
abilities which are not always uscful in
combat.

The visuals and vocals in this game
are average. The graphics in this
game .are good, but are a little car-
toony. The music could have been
mixed better, and the acknowledg-
ment sounds the units make arc
decent enough at first, but they get old
really fast.

I recommend this game to people
who enjoy real time strategy games or
who are die hard fans of the Lord of
the Rings. ;

>> Walter

Final Fantasy X2

>> Squaresoft 2003

Kk

Ohhh, where to start. I suppose it’s best to begin
with the basics. Final Fantasy, as many of you proba-
bly are well aware, is a long series of ridiculously suc-
cessful, frighteningly addictive video games. There
have, over the years, been several standards set by the
Final Fantasy name, many of which have become
industry standards. One of these rules (perhaps the
only one commonly disregarded by the rest of the
RPGs) is the fact that Final Fantasy never, NEVER,
makes a sequel. Each successive game is made in a
new, almost completely different universe, keeping a
sense of novelty that has kept gamers interested for
God knows how long, over a series of at least 13
games branded with the Final Fantasy name.

Until now. Apparently Squaresoft (the creators)
decided to make a sequel following two of the sec-
ondary characters (well, one of the two central char-
acters, and one sub-character) in their first-ever
sequel. Then they figured, hey, since we’re defying
this rule, we might as well butcher the stone founda-
tion upon which our franchise is built. Now, change
isn’t always bad, if it’s done tactfully.

This was not done tactfully. They took out the

orchestral motif and changed it to nauseating techno-.

beats. They took out the expansive variety of charac-
ters and stuck you with the same three throughout the
game. They took out the gloomy presentation of the
apocalyptic plotline. They took’out all male main
characters - and, with them, the dignity of the fran-
chise.

Allow me to explain about that last one. There is
nothing wrong with having an all-female cast. There
is, however, something wrong with Dead Or Alive:
Xtreme Beach Volleyball. It’s one thing to have an
empowering story featuring women who can take care

of themselves - it’s another thing altogether to have scantily clad women bouncing around and acting ditzy. Many parts
of this game’s plotline seem as though they were written by the friggin’ Spice Girls. It’s like watching Charlie’s Angels

2, only with more childish humor and less kung fu fighting.

The game play, however, holds true to this game’s addictive lineage. An innovative battle system (another constant
with the Final Fantasy games is the complete rehash of the character and level systems) makes this game exuberantly
fun. This places any self-respecting person in quite a conundrum while playing: It’s so fun... but between the scantily
clad girls, the vomitously peppy music, and the barely-hidden lesbian undertones (before you get half way through the
game, you realize what I’m talking about); playing it makes you feel so... dirty... (4.5 stars) for gameplay, but (2.5 stars)

overall.

- The Bitter Old Man

Freelancer >> EA Games 2003

GF POSSISILITY

Kkkkkk

Freelancer casts the player in the
role of Edison Trent, a freclance
space pilot out making moncy and a
reputation one contract at a time.
There are many different factions in
the game, and the missions you

accept determine how each faction
views you. There are a number of
different missions available to the
player. at any time, and they can even
abandon the storyline and do thcir
own thing. There is more to
Freelancer than flying and blowing
stuff up. If you wanted to, you could

‘get a big-ass freighter and smuggle

stuff around the galaxy. It’s up to
you.

Freelancer breaks away from the
usual joystick control scheme for
flight, opting instead to use an inge-
nious new system. The controls func<
tion very similarly to most action
games: the mouse is used for direc-
tions and firing, while the w, a, s and
d keys are used, respectively, for
accclerating, strafing left, decelerat-
ing, and strafing right.

The graphics in Freclancer are

stunning. Space is full of life and
colour, with galaxics in the back-
ground, space debris, other craft and
planets. The story is moved along
with nicely rendered cutscenes.- The
sound is also excellent, with good
voice acting, sound cffects and music.

Freclancer also features some
excellent menus and plenty of back-
story. The interface gives you casy
access to any information you may
wish to sce.

Overall, I can't think of any good
reason for you not to go out and buy
Freelancer, It's that good. I give it 10
out of 10.

~ Brad Prangnell