Over the Edge + January 18, 2006

Reviews 9

Cure the Dark Eco
with No Load Times

GAME Jak and Daxter, the Precursor Legacy
PLATFORM Playstation 2

DEVELOPER Naughty Dog

YEAR 2001 i

RAY THIBEAULT
STAFF WRITER

Jak, the hero of the game, and Daxter,
the furry loud-mouthed comic relief,
are on a quest to find a cure to the Dark
Eco curse that was placed on Daxter
and turned him into his now furry self.
Jak must run, jump, swim, and glide
through several areas, including an area
of molten lava and a snowy paradise
(how do these two areas always come
up so close to each other in one game?).
Through the collection of Power Cells
and Precursor Orbs (that you use to
buy Power Cells) you traverse from
one area to the next, activating Precur-
sor machinery that has long been in
disuse, but still works perfectly. With
each area that you move through and
the more Power Cells you obtain you
come closer to finding Gol, the one per-
son who can cure Daxter. But, when
you finally do meet Gol the real trouble
begins to ensue. Gol, himself changed
by the Dark Eco, believes he is able to
harness its chaotic power and bring a
new age of prosperity to the land. Ob-
viously, that’s not going to happen. You
must stop him, AND get him to cure
Daxter. With the help of Green, Yel-

low, Blue, and Red Ecos, you can do it.

Graphics and Sound: The environ-
ments are colourful, the charactérs even
more so, and sound quality is ready to

match it. Each track complements
both the theme and action of the area
you are currently in, whether you are
searching the Dark Eco filled Spider
Caves or under the water in the hid-
den Precursor City. The graphic detail
is most impressive when you have your
character standing on the high ground
surveying the surrounding area, either
in first person or in the default third
person perpective.

Gameplay: The controls in the game
are extremely simple and easy to use.
Camera issues notwithstanding, con-
trolling Jak will become second nature
after only a few minutes of playing.
Even when you jump into vehicles
there is no confusion regarding control
or health. Each of the Ecos in the game
aid you in different ways: Green re-
stores health, yellow gives you distance
attacks, blue increases your speed and
activates certain platforms, and Red in-
creases the power of your attacks.

Overall: The ease and breadth of
play along with no load times (you
hear that Microsoft? No load times
in 2001!) make this game well worth
seeking out. Also be on the lookout for
the three sequels.

Rating: 4.5/5

GAME We LOVE Katamari
PLATFORM Playstation 2
DEVELOPER Namco
YEAR 2005

“ JCDIACHUK

STAFF WRITER

No game is more the result of fan
appreciation than Namco's “We Love
Katamari’, released for the Playstation
2 in North America on September
20, 2005. The sequel to the highly-ac-
claimed “Katamari Damacy” (“Clump
of Souls” in Japanese, approximately),
We Love Katamari features similar
gameplay as its precursor, with im-
provements in nearly all areas, espe-
cially in multiplayer aspects.

The premise is fairly simple: the
people of Earth are highly impressed
with the Katamari-rolling abilities of
the King of All Cosmos, and begin mak-
ing requests to him. “Roll up animals!”

they cry, “Try rolling underwater!” The
King of All Cosmos, impressed by his
fan base, sends his son, the Prince of
All Cosmos, to meet these requests.
The new Katamaris created by the
Prince are then sent into the cosmos to
replace the planets and other celestial
bodies that were greviously lost in the
opening of the previous game.
Gameplay remains largely unchanged
from the original concept. Players use
both analog sticks to push their Kata-
mari, a sticky ball. As the Katamari
rolls, things get stuck to it: Its mass
accumulates and it grows larger. Many
stages have similar goals to those in the
previous game. In addition, there are
many innovative stages involving col-
lecting unique objects (students at a
school, flowers, paper cranes) or using
different rules (rolling a Sumo wrestler
to collect food, rolling up only fifty ob-
jects total, rolling a Katamari that has

Who Wouldn't Love Katamari?

been lit on fire). There are over forty
goals in all.

Multiplayer aspects of the sequel
have much improved on those of the
original. In addition to the versus mode,
cooperative gameplay is now possible.
Each player pushes one side of the
same Katamari, resulting in hours of
fun mostly derived from yelling at your
partner about which way to go.

The music is delightful and reminis-
cent of the excellent music of the ori-
ginal, and the cutscenes between stages
that peek into the life of the young King
of All Cosmos of the past are brightly
animated and enjoyable. Overall, the
game is amazing, Yet another sequel is
scheduled to be released sometime this ~
yeat, titled “Me and My Katamari’, for
the PSP,

Score: 10/10

Street Racing for Arcade Gamers

GAME Need for Speed: Most Wanted
PLATFORM Playstation 2 (Demo Reviewed),
XBox 360, XBox, GameCube, PC, PSP,
Nintendo DS, Gameboy Advance
DEVELOPER Electornic Arts

“YEAR 2005

RAY THIBEAULT
STAFF WRITER

Illegal street racing is not endorsed,
condoned, or encouraged by EA or its
affiliates. ‘Now that the public service
message is out of the way, Need for
Speed: Most Wanted is a game about
street racing (Really? No, couldn't be).
It is your job to join in races, win those
races, and go against members of the
Blacklist. The Blacklist is a list of the
best street racers the game can come up
with, and just so you know, they cheat.
But that's part of what street racing is.
You are able to customise both the look
and tuning of your vehicle so you can
trip out your ride with the latest paints
and engines to help you make your way
to the top of the Blacklist. Before you
are able to go against even the lowest
on the Blacklist you have to build up
your Rap Sheet by evading the police
and causing as much damage as pos-

Loving the

GAME From Russia With Love 007
PLATFORM Playstation 2 (Demo Reviewed),
XBox, GameCube —

DEVELOPER Electornic Arts

YEAR 2005

RAY THIBEAULT

STAFF WRITER “
James Bond is back and he's brought

Sean Connery with him. ‘The original

star of From Russia with Love is back-

.-to reprise his role in a video game

based on the movie, The game follows
the same storyline as the movie, but ex-
pands many of the areas and situations
to make it a much more fun and much
longer experience than the original.
All the weapons and gadgets that bond
has made famous from the movie are
back, and you're in control. The demo
begins with a fully rendered cutscene
of James Bond walking towards the

sible within the time limit. The more
damage you do, the faster you will get
a Rap Sheet and the sooner you will
be able to go against members of the
Blacklist.

Graphics and Sound: The vehicles
look fantastic, fully chromed and re-
flecting parts of the environment in
real time as you drive by. Environments
themselves are also highly detailed and
open. The sound in the game may or
may not be accurate. If you've ever
driven in an expensive sports vehicle
and know for sure, tell me. The sound-
track for the game is what you would

_expect in a game about street racing.

Gameplay: Vehicle control in the
game is simple and responsive. You
have the option of choosing either
manual or automatic transmission and
each vehicle comes equipped with a
recharging Nitrous to give you the ex-
tra speed you need to evade the chas-
ing police, Running from the police
is the most fun you can-have in this
game.. During the race you are limited
to a certain track, but once the race is
finished the area opens up and allows
almost total freedom of movement
within the city streets.

Bond Girls

bar and ordering his famous drink:
“Dry martini, shaken not stirred.’ And
like all Bond movies, the action starts
right away when the young daughter

of a powerful corporate leader is kid--

napped, Bond is on the case and fights
off the would be kidnappers and uses a
rocket pack to rescue the young damsel
from certain death after he shoots the
helicopter she is in out of the sky.
Graphics and Sound: The graph-
ics are ctisp and clear, detailing James
Bond down to expression with his eye-
brows. When EA says that they used
the likeness and voice of Sean Connery
they weren't kidding. The likeness of
Sean Connery when he was a (rela-
tively) young man starring in the Bond
films is used, but the voice is of the
current 65 year old. James is not the
only one to have great detail, even the

enemies are faithfully rendered down.

An excellent racing game that caters
to those who enjoy arcade racing and
are either too scared, too poor, or too
smart to really race in the streets. Be .
warned, the police in the game chase
after you and only. you, they don't stop
your competitors for some reason.
Rating: 5/5

to the blood spatter when you shoot
them.

Gameplay: Third person shooters
are always fun when one joystick con-
trols the character and the other con-
trols the camera. Camera trouble aside
the controls are very responsive and
EA gives you plenty of handy extras
to make sure you stay alive and kill-
ing the bad guys. A new feature called
Bond Focus allows you to zoom in on
an enemy and make critical hits with a
single shot instead of simply locking on
and firing five shots to kill one enemy.
Close combat has received a makeover
as well, so don't be shy to mix it up in
close quarters.

Overall: Bond girls in 3D...need I
Say more?

Rating: 4.5/5