Games you've recently finished

Post a small review about a game you recently finished playing. What are it's good, bad and ugly points? Would you recommend it to other players? DO NOT just post the title, but give your OPINION. This can be helpful for other people who are interested in the game, without them having to go through an entire thread dedicated to that game. I'll post my list later on.

For those fuckers who don't understand:
Do not just post the title of the game, but write a small review for it, so that there can at leas be some discussion about it. For a good example, look at the post Mortis made.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

Originally Posted by Son of Wiseness

Peter Jackson's King Kong for Gamecube, I recomend that you not play this game, It's a pretty good game when your Jack, but when you're Kong it's horrible.

When he says small review, he means longer than three or four sentences (in your case one).

Seriously, more effort need to be put into posts or this thread will not go anywhere.

How ya doing, buddy?

The last game I finished was Final Fantasy X. It started off very slowly but when I got Anima, the game seemed to just fly by. It took me forever to beat, by that I mean I had better games to get through first (Having said that I did beat Final Fantasy X-2 first), but I'm glad it's done and dusted now. I thought the storyline was good, the animations were pretty stunning but it was the speech/acting that let it down, it's quite possibly the worst part of the game.

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

game: psychonauts. platform: pc.

this game had an excellent presentation. i loved the range of voice-acting, the great artwork (nothing looks the same twice really), and the music was great overall as well. the gameplay of it is decent-- standard platformer fare really, but it had its good moments. the design in a few of the levels left me standing in awe of the brilliance of the ideas they had, but some other levels are just standard platforming. the real incentive of this game is to find out what the next level will look like. sure, there's a story, but the only real reason you want to find out what is next is that it's a really funny game as well. the voice acting really helps this-- the actors all sound great; nothing is out of place.

some gripes: while the artwork is great, the graphics in the game leave a little to be desired. all of the locations look nice artistically, but they are all lacking pretty severely in polygon counts. i'm pretty sure the dreamcast could have rendered these levels fairly easily. also, the camera poses some minor problems in this game at times, but since you can control it a bit with the mouse, it's not as bad as it could be.

i'd rate this an 8.5/10 or so. not perfect, but certainly not bad for some random developer for a pc platformer that i'd never heard of before last october.

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

Just finished Grandia 3.

Great game IMO. Yes the story is cliché but weren't all Grandia's like that? Heck, a lot of rpg's nowadays don't have a very interesting story. The main characters were very likable, although some important enemies could use a lot more personality, motivation and backgroud story.

Sadly no sidequest, but seeing as I never really spend a lot of time doing sidequest anyway, coupled with the fact there are so many other great games now and on the horizon, I didn't have a problem with it. But I can see why other players find this a big problem, especially if you have limited funds to buy games.

Graphics were great. Some of the best scenery I have ever seen in an rpg. And as with every Grandia: The battle-system flat-out rocks!!

8.5/10

How ya doing, buddy?

Killer7
All I can say is...WEIRD!!! It's the kind of game where I think I understood the story, but probably isn't what I think it is. I enjoyed it mainly for the shooting part and how you can upgrade each of your personalities. The game is kind of limited on the freedoom side since you walk along an established path only by pressing X and the puzzles are kinda easy. Definitely not for everyone, only for casual gamers.

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

Legend of Zelda - The Minish Cup

What can I say? Actually, at least three sentences worth. THe game was amazing. I admit, hearing the idea of having to solve puzzle by changing your sizes did NOT interest me that much. Yet, it was Zelda, it was a time killer, and so I started to play. And then, the game started to grow on me...a lot. Fresh ideas, fresh battles, fresh items, along with some of the usual techniques like the spin attack, full life attack, and so forth. Furthermore, while others found this game to be easy, I found a few sections to have, at least a medium level of difficulty. Once you figured out some strategies though, that part became easy.

My ratings:

Story - B

Fairly good story. While the essence is nothing new since 1986, it has been updated with a slew of new factors, including...a new enemy!

Music - A+

Fairly catchy tunes. The battle themes are fairly decent themselves. The dungeon music, and other "travelling" music is just that. It's there, it's good, but you don't notice it until you stop "travelling".

Control - A+

Standard Zelda control here. Good response. The items work well too, although some items take a bit of getting use to.

Graphics - A

Very colorful graphics. While not as good as other games, the graphics still give a "light" atmosphere to the game, and demand attention from the start.

Replayability - C

Okay, here's the problem. Once you beat the game...there isn't so much to do. Nintendo did add in a few things to do that you can only get/do once you beat the game, but it isn't much.

Overall - A I would recommend this to anyone with a GBA. THe puzzles, while not as difficult as LTTP, can be challenging at times. Same with boss battles. It holds the original Zelda atmosphere, and some of the winning elements that makes the Zelda series a success, while introducing a few new ones to keep the series fresh.

FELIPE NO

I finished Kingdom Hearts II Import version a couple weeks ago.

Do I recommend it? Hell no, it's the worst game ever, go play Superman 64... Hehe, nah just kidding. Of course I recommend this game, for those who enjoyed the first KH definitely will enjoy the sequel. The story continues where the previous games left (PS2 and GBA versions) but with the introduction of new characters like Roxas and his friends.

I played KH1 a couple hours before starting KH2 to see what improments Square-Enix in this game:

Graphics A: they improved a lot but I think most people won't see a big jump because the first game already have pretty nice graphics.

Music B+: it's ok to me, the usual for a Square-Enix.

Control A+: fortunately they improved it a lot here, now it's easier to use special moves and execute combos (specially in the air).

Replay value A: there are tons of secrets that you won't discover the first time, I recommend for experienced gamers that don't have enough time to play to start the game in hard mode because it's easier to get the special ending than collecting all the secrets in normal mode.

Overall: stop reading this and preorder the US version NOW.

What, you don't want my bikini-clad body?

Jedi Knight: Dark Forces2
played it again after having found the CDs after a long time of search.

Story - B

Good Star Wars Story. Could have been better if there werent the black-white contrast , but thats star wars.
The Cutscenes with real actors are nice. Since the game is from 1997 i wouldn have like inGame cutscenes more.

Music - A

John Wiliams classics once again. matching perfectly.

Control - B

Once having configured the controls ( the config menu suckx hell )
it plays nice.
The use of the force powers are not as comfortable as in the newer games.
The game is well-playable, no frustrating elements.

Graphics - B/D

Its from 1997, it was quite okey back then.
Compared to modern games the graphics are not that great, some will even say its damn ugly.
at least it has 3D Card support ^_^

Replayability - B

Next time i´ll try the dark side ^-^
a nice reason to play it again.

Overall - B/E
People who like older games will like this as well, but i think most of the new gamers generation(the ones with HALO as their first game ) will hate it just because its old.
I love it because the gameplay is really well done, the level design is awesome ( but sometimes tricky ) and it runs perfect on a modern computer

Jam it back in, in the dark.

Resident Evil 4: It was my first time playing RE4 since it's initial release back in January/Febuary 2005. I bought and played the GC rev and I am so very glad I picked it up. I seriously loathe the RE series with a passion, finding the entire series dull and uninteresting for it's high focus on puzzle solving, bad camera angles and yet lack of actual zombies. RE4 was the complete opposite offering an action-centric game with SUCH simple puzzle solving and for some reason this great amount of replayability that I didn't think would keep me hooked, but it did. Also, the offering of newer weapons is awesome.

Tales of the Abyss: Ahh, yes. Namco's way of celebrating Tales of Phantasia's 10th anniversary, and what a nice way to go out. I loved Abyss because of the character interactions and above all the FR-LMBS battle system (Free Linear Motion Battle System). Also, the Field of Fonim focus was amazing and made battles so intense and strategic I ended up restarting certain bosses to have some more fun and not even care about getting a better grade. An awesome, awesome game that I'm sure Symphonia fans would love to death (easily more than). Too bad it's an import only for the time being.

Tales of Rebirth: Ahh, yes. Another Tales game, only this one nearly entirely in 2D. Overall, I enjoyed this game a lot more than Abyss because all the characters had backstories I really cared about. Unlike in Abyss where I would give a damn about one character's backstory and ignore another, etc. Great game, really should come stateside to give Symphonia fans another taste of Tales. Oh well.

Tales of Legendia: Not really finished, but at the moment storming through the Character Quests. It's a really cute game and while it's nothing amazing that will end all games and become game of the year, it is so much FUN, that I place it above all the games I'm currently playing. Norma's also such a cutie. <3

There's nowhere I can't reach.

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time

My friends and I recently played through this game, in preparation for Twilight Princess. We're also working on Link to the Past, Wind Waker, and Majora's Mask. I'll post reviews of those games when we finish them.

Graphics: B
For the time, the graphics were pretty good, but suffered from the N64's poor lighting effects. In the end, they pushed the 64 a bit too far, and it suffered. Majora's Mask looks a *lot* better, thanks to the expansion pack.

Controls: A-
Pretty damn good control setup. Not quite as good as the Super Mario 64 controls, but still, very nice. I didn't like Navi getting a whole C button all to herself though. That was annoying.

Story: B+
Good story, but it felt a little tired and repetitive after a while. I would have preferred less of the "here are the 6 temples, go get the sages, etc." Also, character developent was ehh, but then again, this is a Zelda game. Still, you can't deny that this game is a classic.

Music: C+
I'm sorry, I just don't like Zelda music all that much. Reusing music and all is good sometimes, but I think it really hurts this game. The themes themselves are memorable, but the orchestration is sometimes lacking, and the original music is not all that great. It fades into the background nicely, but it could do a lot better at providing atmosphere. Sometimes I notice that the music has seemingly dropped out, I guess there are just pauses in it sometimes.

Overall (not a sum): B+
While this is a good game, and a classic, I much prefer the less linear Majora's Mask and the highly stylized Wind Waker (which reminded me a lot of the older NES/GB/SNES Zeldas) to this game. I can't deny I spent a good portion of my childhood playing this, but it's really not that great of a game. Definitely overrated by a lot of people.

edit: forgot to say something about replayability
Replayability: B+
There are a decent number of extra things to do, none of them really huge sidequests (biggest two are probably the Mask and Trading games). There's enough to keep you occupied for a few runs through, but then it just becomes a tedious job trying to find every last Skultulla and heart piece. Again, Majora's Mask is superior in this respect; the game is LOADED with sidequests and little things to do that are irrelevant to the "main" storyline.

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

I just beat The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker for the second time. Replayability (collecting all the heart pieces, doing all the trading, finding all the treasure, getting a full map, beating all the baddies you can, and the Nintendo Gallery) on this is hampered by the fact that you're sailing on a boat on a huge tract of ocean, but the gameplay, story, controls, graphics, and music are all exemplary and remind me that this is the best series Nintendo has had to offer.

How ya doing, buddy?

God of War.

Spoiler:

Amazing half hour, the hydra scenes and death scenes are awesome. The part where you're roaming around athens is also nice, but once you end up reaching the desert things start to slow down, and game dies slowly in the middle.

Personally I think the whole game is a worthwhile purchase, but that's only if you enjoy hack-and-slash type games. When you're roaming around in the challenge of athens, challenge of poseidon, and challenge of hades, that's when things seem to slow down. Mind you, the challenge of hades is awesome. The boss battle there is amazing, too.

I like how the game managed to pick itself up nearing the end. Fighting and destroying a God with the help of Pandora's Box is a great feeling. What they've done is mix greek mythology, and quite well I might say.

As for replayability, well, I rented this game first, managed to get 3/4 of the way through it in the first attempt, bought it and proceeded to complete it. There's a decent reward at the end, and that's seeing the different efforts they put into the game, the concept designs they've used, the models for cyclops, zombies, and so on. There's even a little after-game.

Replayability only holds up with God mode, which isn't what it sounds like. Basically it's like Dante Must Die in Devil May Cry. Fucking hard, and you're going to die on the first hydra. Personally I'm not really into games which require you to die 15 times just to get past a sequence, but the overall playing of the game was nice.

I'd give this an 8/10.

I was speaking idiomatically.

Disgaea: Hour of Darkness

Although I've only gotten one ending. I suppose it's enough to write a review on.

Graphics - 8/10 (I don't really like using the grading system <_<)
Your basic sprite graphics in a game. Detailed for the main characters in the game, but when it comes to the created characters, they just change up the color, but keep the design, which does get boring after a while. Still nice how they animate the characters during the dialouge scenes.

Controls - 7/10
Controls are pretty basic when it comes to tactic games. Moving people around the board according to squares... That kind of thing. If you wanna toss camera angle in here, it leaves something to be desired... Sometimes you'll catch a glimpse of an enemy and the best view you could probably get on it's head.

Story - 9/10
With multiple endings, you can't go wrong. Especially when the story is pretty good to begin with. Tosses in some Japanese humor that is actually quite funny at times. Kept me entertained.

Music - 8/10
It's something that you might not generally pay attention to, but it's quite good. Changes up depending on the stage you're in and fits the Netherworld quite well, if I do say so myself.

Gameplay - 9/10
Balance in this game is completely burned in hell in this game. For Disgaea, it's a good thing. You can basically have overleveled characters and it wouldn't seem wrong at any extent. Including the fact that these monsters can get incredibly cheap on you too. But the whole point of the game is defying the odds, so you have to find a way around it.

Replayability - 9/10
If you love collecting every single item in the game and you LOVE maxing out your characters, this is the game for you. With lots of items to master and your max level being 9999, you can't go wrong at all.

Value - 9/10
It really depends on your interests in Tactic style RPGs. If you didn't like Final Fantasy Tactics, i'd reccomend to stay away from this one, because this one might not be any different. If you do like them, then hell, when you have an opportunity, get this game. You will love it.

Overall (Average) - 8.4/10
This is probably one of my favorite tactics games. I wasn't particularly interested in playing Final Fantasy Tactics either, but this game got it sparked up again. It did cost a really pretty penny just to get this game also ($44.99 to be exact. >_<), but with it's humorous dialogue, compelling storyline, and balance completely thrown out the window, it will keep you busy for about 40+ hours.

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

I suppose I should throw my two cents out for Fable: The Lost Chapters on the PC.

Now, Fable was one of two Xbox-exclusive titles I wanted to play, the other being Jade Empire. So naturally I was pretty hyped that Fable was making the jump to PC with the original content that was left out from the first release.

Graphics: Even though the people aren't very....aesthically pleasing, the models are well done, as with all the armor pieces. I would've liked to see more creativity done for the NPCs though, since between Oakvale, Bowerstone, Knothole Glade, etc. the NPCs all kinda start to look the same. But that's not much of a detraction, considering how well they're designed.

The environments are nothing to scoff at either. I was really impressed with what I saw. The cities were very....I guess accurate would be an appropriate word. By that I mean, this game gives off a historical feel to it, and the cities feel like they were taken right from a history book. Everything else, from what lies behind the mysterious Demon Doors to the environments you traverse look well designed and accurate.

Music: To make a long story short, I was lost in the ambience of Fable's music, so I never quite heard it. I guess that's to say that while the music didn't impress me, it didn't distract me with annoying sounds either.

Voices: All done by British VAs and sounding very Old English, it fit the scenario really well. I was a bit taken aback when I first heard them speak and it took a bit of playtime to get used to it, but once I got used to hearing them speak it was easier to interpret their words.

Combat: Everything is done in Zelda-like real-time, with enemies waiting on the map for you come in range and fight them. You fight everything from humans and wasps to wolfman-like balverines and the undead. Your character has access to all three forms of combat -- melee (with a variety of weapons from swords to pickaxes), ranged using longbows and crossbows, and magic attacks. The magic can be used for ranged attacks, area attacks, and defensive spells as well.

The gameplay as a whole in Fable makes you take an hour or two to really get into it, but I'll be damned if it's not addicting once you're in. They play up the "good or bad" choices, but there aren't that many that really have an effect. There are certain parts during the game that really determine your character's alignment. The NPCs are great too -- people will literally drop what they're carrying to either praise you or run in fear of you. You can wait until the shops open in the morning, or pick the locks (or break the door down) and have at their merchandise.

The game lets you buy unowned property (for the good guys, it's one house per town) that you can renovate, sell back, or live in. Buying a house unlocks an interesting feature in the game -- the ability to marry. Flirt with that special lady enough times and well, she'll ask you for a particular placeholder on her finger. Give her a Wedding Ring (but not a fake one. They don't like that.) and she'll consider it. Come back after a few days and she'll have her answer. If she's good for it, you'll become man and wife!

Marriage has its benefits. You receive a dowry of gold upon marriage, your alignment increases, and occassionally she'll (or he'll, depending on the player) give you items. I usually got Plate armor from mine. You can also have more than one wife -- one in each city you own a house in.

There are downsides though. If you marry, you can't sell your house -- ever. It's important to keep your wife happy, so you'll want to be showering her with presents. If you get easily embarrassed, prepare to turn off the speakers when you decide to get freaky with the lady. Also, no matter how many times you get freaky, she's unable to bear children. Sorry, no free labor coming from her womb.

Even though you go nameless throughout the whole adventure (which is odd considering you DO have a father for the first bit of the game and a sister whose got a name), you can take up titles and have Rhobbin the Bard sing of your accomplishments.

One last thing. Everything you wear on your body changes your appearance. Even though there are about 26 full sets of clothing, there are some articles without a full set, such as the Platemail set. It lacks a helmet. It's not a big deal, but it would've been nice. And while I'm on the subject -- 26 is a deceptive number. Yes, there are 26 sets, but a few of them are triple sets, just recolored. However, it's a really nice feature to see your appearance change. All of the weapons are different as well.

Speaking of appearance, depending on what you eat, how much of it and how quickly, your physical appearance changes as well. You can get fatter (or portly as a particular Demon Door calls it) or slimmer. Either way, your wife still loves you. XDD The only thing that bothered me about physical appearance was the fact that you seemed to grow old and gray REALLY fast, and then just suddenly stop. It was kind of odd to go through that much of a change so quickly. Plus, learning magic gives you slightly visible white markings on your body, making you appear older than you are.

Overall, this game definitely gets an A. I enjoyed this game a whole lot going through as a good guy, and I plan to through it again as a bastard. It clocks in about 20 hours, which is decent considering how open it is. Lots of stuff to do, plenty of time to do it in.

By the way, if you need some cash, sell items back to the merchant you bought them from, and repeat the process. This works especially well with gifts from the vendor in Oakvale!

FELIPE NO

I most recently finished Darwinia for the PC. It was really cool! The graphics and sound have an amazing retro feel to them.

More importantly the gameplay was good. It started of pretty easy, but soon things picked up as more and more elements were introduced. This was definitely one of the more unique games that I have played!

The user interface reminded me a lot like Black and White, which was good and bad. It's nice because more of the screen can be devoted to scenery, but sometimes you just want some displays to help you out.

Anyway, you should try it out if you're looking for something new!

What, you don't want my bikini-clad body?

Recently finished Ys: The Oath in Felghana for the PC on both Normal and Hard mode, with Nightmare mode on the to-do list. Great action RPG game from the guys at Falcom.

For those not in the know, YsF is a total 'remake-over' of the third chapter 'Wanderers From Ys' (which was dubbed as inferior to the first two games) in the long running series. The story is a basic tried-and-true formula consisting of the hero, Adol and companion, Dogi (the wall-breaker) trying to stop the resurrection of an evil god of war, Galvaran while saving the token helpless female supporting character and basically, save the world. Nothing truly epic in the same vein of the Final Fantasy series, but eh, that's not important in a Ys game.

The gameplay is an A-RPG player's wet dream. Fusing a fast paced hack 'n slash mechanism with the an active magic system, fighting the hordes of enemy monsters and the gigantic bosses never seems daunting. The gameplay also emphasises on effectively evading enemy attacks instead of charging blindly at the monsters, bringing a sort of strategic element to the game and heightening the excitement and fun of the battles.

Graphically, it's on par with the previous Ys game, "The Ark of Napishtim" utilizing basically the same engine that consists of pre-rendered sprites and 3D polygonal backgrounds and looks great, though hardly pushing any boundaries at the same time.

Now, the music is where YsF truly shines. Tunes are basically from the original Ys III game, but composer Yukihiro Jindo has done away with (most) of the synthesised midi-ish music of yore and completely overhauled it with actual guitars, drums, piano and such, giving you a sonical feast of the ears. You WILL stick around the dungeons for a bit longer just to listen to the music (though you get the entire soundtrack in OGG format if you explore the game folder) - it's that good.

As previously stated, YsF is a great game, though being relatively unknown to any other country other than Japan, (Konami sort of helped changed that by licensing Ys VI - The Ark of Napishtim for the PS2/PSP for USA and Europe, while taking certain liberties in the port, with results being mixed at best) it's a crying shame that it doesn't get the recognition it deserves. Ys fans will be pleased at this latest addition and new comers should find it equally enjoyable regardless of the thin plot, with the gameplay more than making up for it.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

This week I finally beat F.E.A.R.
I'm actually impressed. In my opinion, FEAR showed me something amazing in game physics and graphics, it left me stunned. Everything from soldiers falling to the ground to bullets spraying everywhere is greatly performed along with great graphics.

The story is a little so-so, and I didn't get everything in the end. However, a big part of FEAR is the.. fear. Yes, I thought it was really scary sometimes, and it was just normal for me playing FEAR with a grumbling stomach and beating heart.

The game has you on the ropes all the time.

How ya doing, buddy?

The game I most recently beat, not necessarily finished, is Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance. Mainly story, it's a wonderfully thought-out game. The controls are easy. The characters have their own personalities, even in battle. There's a complicated battle system, involving how different weapons affect each other in combat and how terrain affects a unit's speed or defense. The cut scenes are beautiful and smooth; I'm just sorry there were so few of them. Plus, the game has replay value by offering random, non-EXP granting practice maps and having three stages of difficulty (I need to try the harder two). Overall, I feel this is a wonderful game with superb ending sequence and highly recommend it to anyone.

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

I've recently beaten Indigo Prophecy a.k.a Fahrenheit and I'm quite pleased with the initial experience, even though the story goes down the shitter late into the game.

The beginning is perhaps the best part of the whole thing. The murder is one of the most well-directed scene I've ever seen grace a game. There was a real sense of urgency as you couldn't know when the cop would decide it was time to take a piss. Hurriedly hiding the victime's body,cleaning up after Lucas,leaving only to realise you forgot to pay the fine and that it's gonna be harder for yourself to evade the police was just perfect. Also, the music by Angelo Badalamenti( of Twin Peaks ) blended perfectly with the action.It's a shame that what you did in the diner didn't alternate the story in the long run, thus dubbing down that wonderful scene by a notch.

From there the ambiance remained tense and suspensful. The main caracthers were likeable, thanks to the great job done by the voice actors and the way you could get to know them by visiting their homes. I especially felt like helping Lucas out of the world of shit he was thrown in. Hell, even Tyler, the token "laid-back,cool black guy with a heart of gold" didn't seem so bad of a caracther. The game was the most interesting when it focused developping its cast.

Now, for the action sequences. The choregraphy was impressive, as was the motion capture. However, the simons QTE were extremly easy to master. This was made worse by the fact that they were overused without any reason:

"Aww,man! I need to think!"
...
...
...
GET READY!

Smashing directions corresponding to flashing lights quickly grew tiring and made dodging oncoming car in a matrix-inspired car chase a chore, if that's possible. The only other mini-game, in wich you had to alternate between two
buttons to help your caracther make a physical effort was even worst, with no variation at all except for a couple of brief scenes.

However, the barely present gameplay was supported by an intriguing plot, a well-paced one at that. Sadly, after the 85% mark, everything that was build upon in the story was dropped and forgotten in favor of a terrible mix of sci-fi
cliches. Horrible plot points were hurriedly introduced and never explained, and the secret behind the murder came off as a let-down because of an array of stupid plot-twists. To put it simply, the ending is insane, hilarious even.

Still, Indigo Prophecy did many things right before its descent into craziness and I liked the way it attempted to give the aventure genre a quick in the nuts, though it did miss its target. It's a fairly interesting game wich offers a great concept,albeit a misused one.

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

I completed Black, and not but a day after I bought it, and feel it worthy of review.

The premise isn't really any different from most other first person shooters since the guts of the game lay in killing endless numbers of soldiers with a plethora of weapons, so Black is far from revolutionizing the genre. The story isn't the game's strong point since it is told in snippets between each mission, performed with live actors with obviously subbed voices. Still, it is enough to leave you with a sense of purpose to continue the game to it's abrupt end. Sgt. Keller, one of an elite force "working" for the government, is given the job to hunt down a traitor who has been leading terrorist attacks across the globe.

Graphics - B+
Black makes a good first impression with having strong detail in your environments and the events occuring around you. Explosions, debris thrown up from gun battles, all look very nice. The weapons are exceptionally detailed, hence some people saying this game is like porn for gun enthusiests. However, the enemies and few allies you see aren't as detailed or unique, but are passabe since you don't ever need to focus on them unless you're aiming to kill.

Music - B-
Nothing stunning here. A good arrangement of brass and string instruments to lend a sense of urgency when needed and to enhance the mood when slaughtering the masses.

Story - C-
Since we're only given a bare bones plot to follow during the course of the game, it's easy to completely forget it between missions. Since the action is all in fighting, clearly it isn't meant to be our priority when getting this game.

Controls - A
The controls are very simple and easy to remember, never forcing you to hesitate longer than half a second to perform an action.

Replayability - D
Since the game offers no multiplayer feature and no online play, there is only the missions you completed to play again on different levels of difficulty. You can unlock silver versions of your guns for unlimited ammo, but that's hardly a reason to play through the game more than twice. Once the initial awe wears out, it's nothing special to play.

End Result - B
It is an above-par shooter and certainly isn't bogged down by any technical problems or details, yet it isn't quite worth the forty bucks it sells for. Either rent it if you want the experience, or wait until it goes classic and snatch it for twenty bucks, assuming it ever gets there.

I was speaking idiomatically.

I was recently digging through my friends Genesis games and came across a copy of Samurai Shodown. Both he and I then took turns completely dismantling the game.

Overall, I love the simplicity in control and the usage of special moves.

The music is good considering what era of gaming we're dealing with.

I enjoyed a lot of the vs. matches. I invited a few more of my friends over and had a tournament.

The one problem I had with this game was the AI in the story mode. Sometimes I felt like they were killing me in 3 or 4 hits, which was true in some cases. The final boss can kill you with two basic hits so it's definitely something to watch out for.

Still nothing like the old games

4/5

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

Originally Posted by Zero

Killer7
All I can say is...WEIRD!!! It's the kind of game where I think I understood the story, but probably isn't what I think it is. I enjoyed it mainly for the shooting part and how you can upgrade each of your personalities. The game is kind of limited on the freedoom side since you walk along an established path only by pressing X and the puzzles are kinda easy. Definitely not for everyone, only for casual gamers.

Me too!

Yeah, I'm kind of wondering what the hell hard mode consists of. Harder Heaven Smiles? The only overwhelming parts for me were running up to the generators, having to knock out five jewels, all while fighting off the eggs. And it wasn't even that overwhelming.

And the fact that

Spoiler:

Harman in hard mode has a fucking automatic gun. I played through the first level and it was a piece of cake.

FELIPE NO

Originally Posted by Dyne

Me too!

Yeah, I'm kind of wondering what the hell hard mode consists of. Harder Heaven Smiles? The only overwhelming parts for me were running up to the generators, having to knock out five jewels, all while fighting off the eggs. And it wasn't even that overwhelming.

And the fact that

Spoiler:

Harman in hard mode has a fucking automatic gun. I played through the first level and it was a piece of cake.

Oh, if you only knew. Killer8 mode probably has the usual stronger enemies and weaker Smiths, but the biggest problem is the way Heaven Smiles' weak points are no longer visible. So good luck with that

Most amazing jew boots

Red Faction

A good game even now, considering it came out pretty early in the PS2's lifespan.

Graphics
While the graphics are nothing to gush over, they still serve their purpose (shooting people and explosions). C+

Sound
I found the music to be pretty damn good, and it definitely does a good job of creating some of the game's atmosphere. The game also has very well done voice acting and sound effects as well. A-

Story
Storywise, the game has one, but it wasn't the most enthralling one I've ever experienced in an FPS. It's kinda cliche, and in some parts predictable, but it serves its purpose of not making the game some mindless shootfest. C

Gameplay
Gameplay is the game's strongest points, as this was easily one of the best console first person shooters I've ever played. And while the game has a pretty linear progession of difficulty (especially once the rail gun is introduced), you won't ever find yourself in too much trouble thanks to the save anywhere function. I didn't really play the game's multiplayer mode that much (due to lack of others to play it with, even though it only supports two people), but I would say it's about average. Different levels, bots, etc., the only thing it was missing was other modes, as only Deathmatch is offered. B+

Summary
Overall, if you can find it on the cheap (which shouldn't be hard), you should definitely pick it up. Even if you don't really like console first-person shooters, this one might change your mind about them. (Note: There is a PC version as well, but I haven't played, so I can't say whether or not it's as good as the console version.) I'd give it a B+ overall.

Jam it back in, in the dark.