The Ghost Recon series has always been a firm favorite of mine since the first game in the franchise released, more years ago than I care to admit. The latest iteration is a side-step in the series, given it is on a handheld, in 3D and is a turn-based tactical strategy game. Let’s take a look….

Despite the title “Ghost Recon: Shadow Wars” bars little in common with the other titles in the franchise. Prior to looking into the game and eventually playing it, I – like others – had assumed this was going to be the first third person shooter on the Nintendo 3DS. I couldn’t have been more wrong, what we have here is an out and out turn-based strategy title, using the “Ghost Recon” branding.

Ubisoft were smart to take this route as there’s really no way one can compare this to the regular “Ghost Recon” titles. As the player you’re in charge of a squad of characters you move around the play area and shoot the bad guys to complete various missions. Despite how simple that may sound, there’s a lot of depth within. Ubisoft has done some sweet work here and the 3D is really well done. As turn-based titles go, “Ghost Recon: Shadow Wars” features all the usual factors: grid markers, range, line-of-fire, terrain use for cover, weapon range differentials and more.

The top 3D screen is where the action takes place and as with all 3DS games you can use the 3D slider to the level of 3D you’re comfortable with, from full depth to none. I set to full and looking down caverns and other environmental as[ects was really cool. Menus too appear in 3D at times, though most informational stuff appears on the non 3D screen at the bottom, thus out of the way of where the action is. As graphics go “Ghost Recon: Shadow Wars” is sweet and harkens back to games of tabletop miniatures mixed with something like “Syndicate” on the amiga. For those who never had the joy of that game for comparison, it just means an overhead view of the environment, in which you move your own force in grid like fashion before taking action.

The game is fairly in depth with a whopping 37 main missions to complete each featuring increasing difficulty / tactical issues as you continue forward. There are also ‘multiplayer’, though I use the term loosely given it’s a one DS deal of pass and play gaming, a very odd omission given the 3DS wireless capabilities.

Female Gamer Angle
It’s a pleasure to report “Ghost Recon” Shadow Wars” actually features some female soldiers (Hooyah!!). Saffron and Banshee are the 2 female characters in the squad of 6. On a negative note they’re the ‘Medic’ and ‘Recon’ characters respectively, so not the hard hitting ‘Commando’, ‘Gunner’ or ‘Sniper’ (the last class being ‘Engineer’ also a guy).

Saffron carries the medkit and a small sidearm, whilst Banshee is equipped with special cam and carbine as her main weapon. Regardless of once more being placed in the light combat roles, it’s still nice to see a couple of female ‘ghosts’ in the squad.

As far as launch titles for the 3DS go, “Ghost Recon: Shadow Wars” is a MUST check out for the non turn-based strategy fan and a must by for fans of the genre. The gameplay mechanic is set so that even a novice can jump in and play, thus making this a solid foray into the turn-based strategy genre for this franchise. Fans of the “Ghost Recon” brand though may be disappointed this title is such a huge leap away from what may be expected. Great 3D graphics, a nice system of gameplay and the fact you can pocket this and take it with you makes it a winner, perhaps not for everyone, but definitely one of the better 3DS launch titles thus far available. Nice one Ubisoft.

First, a little background. The “Asphalt” series of games by Gameloft have appeared on various mobile platforms, including the N-Gage, Samsung Corby, iOS, Mobile, DSiWare, Palm Pre. Nintendo DS and now the 3DS. The “Asphalt” series are racing titles, in similar style to “Ridge Racer”, “Burnout”, those sorts of pedal to the metal racing vehicle titles, though this series has never been nearly as good sadly and nothing has changed here.

Ubisoft make and publish some fantastic games, and most reviewers – myself included – don’t really rate this one up there with those, although I have to say, judging by other reviews this title has had, I really don’t find it quite as atrocious as I was led to believe.

It may be baffling as to why Ubisoft would choose to let this one slip into the marketplace, but it’s a franchise that hasn’t done too badly for the developers. Also it’s nowhere near as bad as those truly awful ‘Imagine’ titles. I can only guess releasing “Asphalt 3D” was something done in the hope of grabbing up the cash of those gamers bedazzled by the thought of owning all the 3DS’ launch titles.

“Asphalt 3D” fails in one key area of the racing genre, oncoming traffic seems to appear out of nowhere, not great when part of the skill is in driving on the wrong side of the road. Sure there are plenty of tracks, loads of vehicles and plenty of races, but the draw distance feels shoddy (yes who knew back in the day we’d even be discussing draw distance on a handheld). The overall game mechanic is one based on the idea of ‘drift’, that is you slide around bends. This works well in the other 3DS driving launch title “Ridge Racer 3D”, not quite as well in “Asphalt 3D”, though it’s hardly atrocious. The one thing that is really irritating however, is how you can be coming 1st for an entire race, only to be bumped and overtaken by ALL cars just as you see the finish line, color that annoying.

The graphics on the 3DS have been beefed up, I’ve noticed it on the other games I’ve purchased or been passed for review, Asphalt 3D looks pretty nice, but again, isn’t as good as “Ridge Racer” and one cannot help but make those comparisons. The one thing that does stand out though is the car models, which actually aren’t half bad, it’s a shame the – at times – stuttering framerate does little to let these babies shine.

If you’re looking for a 3DS racing title, at this early stage, I’d steer you toward the Namco Bandai title “Ridge Racer 3D”, which having played both that title and “Asphalt 3D”, the prior is the far superior game. It’s my opinion this one was rushed out by Gameloft and Ubisoft just got stuck as publisher here in Australia, just as Konami did in Japan. Such a shame because the potential is definitely there, they just didn’t seize it or give it enough dev time. It’s not the worst racing game in the world, but it could be a whole lot better.

Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit – Written Game Review

When you hear that EA are teaming up with Criterion Games for a Need for Speed title, it’s time to get excited. Criterion are of course the guys and gals behind the multi-platform “Burnout” games, including “Burnout”, “Burnout 2: Point of Impact”, “Burnout 3: Taken”, “Burnout Revenge” and “Burnout: Paradise”. Now Criterion bring us the latest game in the “Need for Speed” franchise, that of “Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit”.

If the name sounds familiar you’re clearly a veteran gamer with a game titled “Need for Speed III: Hot Pursuit” releasing way back in September 1998. Criterion have taken the franchise back to its roots in more than name only, with more exotic cars and of course awesome police chases.

“Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit” takes place in Seacrest County, an open world with a single player mode of around 14 hours length. Needless to say, most of the gameplay is based around the cat-and-mouse shenanigans of police chases, some of which you are the cat (chasing the mouse) and some vice versa. “Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit” features some of the sweetest vehicles you’re likely to see in a racing title, tricked out police cars with EMP pulse weapons and spike strips to make any hoons night more of a nightmare.

Chasing down an assailant in a tricked out cop car is awesome and the detail in the vehicle models is great, right down to the rims. Of course running from the cops in a tricked out sports car is also a lot of fun, both of these ‘careers’ are accessed via a map system in which you choose the next event to take part in. Progression is simple enough, do things in a certain time and it will of course unlock new vehicles and modes of play.

A cool addition to “Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit” is the “Autolog” which sees your friends times appearing after each race, telling you who of your friends you beat, or if their time was better than yours. This addition was likened to being Facebook for Need for Speed, given it’s essentially a social feature that shows you how your friends are doing on the same events. This means you can compete with your friends without actually ever racing against them online, though that is always an option too with multi-player.

This being a Criterion title there is oodles of replayability. Events you have already done can be revisited at any time and you can try and better the score / medal gained and this will be updated on the Autolog.

Graphics and sound in “Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit” is superb, the navigation and map system works a treat, though lacking the panache of say “Midnight Club: LA”. The environment of Seacrest County is huge (allegedly 4 times the size of “Burnout Paradise”). Locations feature some truly stunning detail, from the distance vistas, to the forests and coasts, everything is polished to within an inch of its virtual life. Audio too features a 5.1 soundtrack featuring great music and sound effects, with police banter adding to proceedings.

Female Gamer Angle on Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit:

Given this is a racing title, there’s little female input, all the artwork for the game seems to suggest you’re male, as does the ingame cues. However, as this is a racing game, there could be anyone in the hot seat tearing up the road, so it’s really a double edged sword. Given the cars are the playable characters as it were, there’s no point in whining there’s no playable female, anyway aren’t most cars named after women.

Anything negative to add? Well, not much, controls can feel a little skittish until you get used to the art of drifting around bends, it also would have been nice to have the “takedown” feature since sideswiping other vehicles will generally see you lose control as they carry on their merry way as though it were a small nudge. There also isn’t much in the way of vehicle upgrades, so people who enjoy tweaking their cars to the enth degree will probably be disappointed, for me though this didn’t affect the game too much. Overall though “”Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit” is a sweet ride and a great example of how to do an arcade racer the right way.

Here we go again people. It’s movie tie-in time. X-men Origins: Wolverine, which – like the film – covers the Wolverine back-story in some detail, with plenty of gore and over the top violence. If you like fighting combos Wolverine has them in droves, it’s just a shame the game is all so repetitive that it can become a little dull. Dodge, fight, dodge fight, dodge fight. Of course if you love the X-Men that isn’t to say you’re not going to enjoy the repetition, as it does have a few sweet effects. Essentially what we have here is a linear third person hack and slash, but with Wolverine doing some sweet moves. For those that enjoy the X-Men universe and particularly Wolverine, wait a few months until it’s on sale and snap it up because it is pretty cool.

Boom Blox immediately garnered the attention of the press because it had the name Steven Spielberg attached to it. Mr Spielberg you see is a fan of video games, but not the violent ones. With his guidance and ‘direction’ (haw haw) EA has come up with Boom Blox, a Wii puzzle game that takes full advantage of the Wii motion controls.

The gameplay of Boom Blox is a fairly simple premise – you (armed with your Wiimote) use a variety of ammunition (baseballs, bowling balls, laser guns) – figure out the best way to knock all blocks down out of a series of Jenga like puzzles. The block might be neatly stacked, intricately stacked or even part of larger multi-faceted puzzles.

The real beauty of Boom Blox is its Wii sensibility, this title was made for the Wii and it never feels like a game that would sit comfortably on another format. If you’ve played Wii Sports you’ll know what that feeling is, a fluidity that you don’t get with a lot of Wii games, because they could easily have appeared on non Wiimote controlled hardware.

Physics, hated it at school, love it in Boom Blox. The games physics are really the cornerstone of play and gravity is either your dear friend or arch enemy. It’s your job as player to utilize this aspect to your best advantage. Blocks fall and tumble as you would expect were they actually stacked on your coffee table.

Graphically speaking Boom Blox isn’t going to blow your socks off, but it is charming and certainly the lack of over the top flashy graphics doesn’t detract from what is fantastic and addictive gameplay. Sound too is nothing awe inspiring, but what is there suits the game and doesn’t detract in any way from the fun being had by all involved.

For the Ladies… There’s no female characters playable in Boom Blox to speak of, well other than that one penguin we saw lurking in the background, we’re pretty sure she was. The thing is, because there’s no human characterization in Boom Blox, it doesn’t really matter there’s no female characters, or anything else for that matter. There’s monkeys, cows, chickens, pigs and other creatures and they’re all so adorable gender complaints tend to go out the window.

Overall Boom Blox is a great little title, a simple concept that is so well executed you’ll be playing for hours. The addition of multiplayer modes means you can play with or against friends, be they beginners, or veteran gamers. Boom Blox is truly a game for gamers of all levels of expertise and it is this accessibility that adds yet more flavor to an already delicious title. Boom Blox wasn’t made by Nintendo, but it feels so well polished that it may well have been. That’s not to say the game can’t be excruciatingly frustrating at points, but it is one of those titles that will see you continue playing, even in your darkest puzzle stumped hour.

Review by Angela

Another high-profile summer blockbuster from Hollywood gets the licensed videogame tie-in treatment as Activision and Z-Axis offer up X-Men: The Official Game for our collective ‘entertainment’. However, Hollywood tie-ins generally exist as little more than sideshow attractions to boost both the movie’s exposure and its global till receipts (Batman Begins is perhaps the worthy exception), so does X-Men: The Official Game transcend that stereotype by delivering a game faithful to the source material while also providing genuine gaming attraction? The answers to those questions are ‘yes’ and ‘no’ respectively.

X-Men: The Official Game has plenty of franchise oomph in terms of star names providing their physical likenesses and vocal talents to the game’s characters, and the likes of Hugh Jackman as Wolverine and Patrick Stewart as Professor Xavier all help to cement an air of believability to the game’s narrative structure, which is a stage-setting prelude to the events of X-Men III: The Last Stand. Game music is also lifted directly from the movie and its beautifully orchestrated pacing certainly adds further enhancement to the authentic vocal performances.

Yet, for all its franchise credibility, X-Men: The Official Game feels sadly flat, stilted, and under developed—much like most movie tie-ins—and the game as a whole falls well short of the most basic videogame requirement: fun. This ultimately damning failure arises through various components of the game, which include a strictly limited and predetermined selection of playable X-Men characters, a sporadically unhelpful in-game camera, disappointing level design and visuals, no mid-mission game saves, and unbelievably repetitive gameplay.

Having only Wolverine, Iceman, and Nightcrawler (a weak cast at best) as mission-specific rotating playable characters seems an almighty waste of considerable resources when gazing across the wealth of X-Men that are either unused or relegated to NPCs during the game. Girl gamers will not be best pleased to discover that not one of the central characters is drawn from the female mutant gene pool, which is made all the more disappointing and inexplicable by the intermittent in-game appearances of Storm (Ororo Munroe) during Wolverine’s levels. In relationship to the player’s usage of Wolverine, his missions are merely devolved exercises of hack-and-slash frustration that quickly grow tiresome, in no small part due to a trailing camera that cannot move throughout 360 degrees of vision and the game’s distinct lack of save points. Indeed, Wolverine’s amazing adamantine claws are not especially useful when attackers are inflicting damage from beyond his field of view and the camera won’t swing into a user-friendly position in order to help adapt to given situations. The simple fact that the camera is completely open and moveable during Nightcrawler and Iceman missions only further instils a sense of perplexed despair when saddled with the game’s claw-wielding lead mutant. However, Nightcrawler and Iceman levels fair little better in terms of originality and entertainment value, and even though the game’s triple character structure ably showcases the individual powers and abilities of each mutant—teleportation, surfing on an icy slide, miraculous healing, etc—there’s little on display to hold player attention for more than a few curious hours.

Graphically, X-Men: The Official Game is built around a serviceable 3D engine that copes relatively well without ever excelling in the presentation department. Environments are largely dull and dark affairs (typically places such as Alkali Lake and Dark Cerebro) that try their hardest to exude an air of menace and foreboding, but instead only conjure up a sense of unfortunate underachievement. Character representations are impressive throughout; all the in-game characters appear like their movie selves, and players can look forward to seeing the likes of Magneto, Pyro, Sabretooth, Silver Samurai, The Sentinel, Multiple Man, Colossus, and a returning Lady Deathstrike all thrown into the mix. The game’s main plotline gradually unfolds between missions via comic book storyboard frames that sport thoroughly believable—but largely static—versions of Hugh Jackman as Wolverine, Halle Berry as Storm, Alan Cummings as Nightcrawler, etc. Though certainly well implemented and competent in delivering the narrative segue moments (perhaps thanks to the actors’ voices), these rendered animatic storyboards ultimately smack of being unfinished elements left static rather than seen through to a completed and worthy end. In fact, the whole game feels much the same.

As already mentioned, the musical score for X-Men; The Official Game is lifted from the movie itself and it’s superb from start to finish, imbuing a degree of impact and ambiance to proceedings that’s sadly lacking across other critical departments. Game sound is carried along ably by the vocal performances of the assembled acting talent, but atmospherics, battle sounds, death cries, etc, are all perfectly acceptable behind the stellar cast. Deaf gamers, or those with hearing impairments, can follow the storyline in X-Men: The Official Game thanks to optional full subtitle accompaniment—which is handy as the storyboard segues contain a great deal of information before each new mission.

As with most modern videogames, X-Men: The Official Game holds a considerable amount of unlockable extras to be abused outside or alongside its central gameplay. In this case, various Danger Room challenges (the Danger Room is a training simulator) can be unlocked during the game, as can new X-Men costumes, and also character-specific moves and powers. Despite the moderate distraction handed down by this minor extra content, and the game’s interesting preceding storyline (to the new movie), the fact remains that X-Men: The Official Game holds limited appeal for hardened X-Men fans and casual gamers alike. Only three playable X-Men characters (all male—Ed) is the game’s first slap across the face of the consumer, whereas two of them being dull as dishwater emerges as the second. Banal and repetitive gameplay is then the equivalent of a swift kick to the solar plexus, while the Wolverine-missions’ game camera sticks a metal claw through the eye as it all-but kills any form of fluid movement and on-the-go navigation. Add uninspiring visuals, grimy presentation, and lacklustre story explanations and you’re left with great music and great vocal performances…both of which are taken from the X-Men III: The Last Stand movie. Make of that what you will.

Review by Stevie

Following a massive battle between the forces of Magneto and an invading Apocalypse, the city of Genosha lies in scarred ruins, its people all-but destroyed, and a desperate Magneto left with only one choice: seek help. And so, the nefarious Brotherhood of Mutants form a fragile alliance with Professor Xavier’s X-Men in an attempt to rid the world of a common evil that threatens all. Meanwhile, Apocalypse is abducting individual mutants and performing mysterious genetic tests on them, sampling their DNA, searching for something specific—but what? Join the X-Men and the Brotherhood in their quest to thwart Apocalypse and discover the unsettling truth behind his relentless pursuits.

ThumbBandits.com is primarily a girl-gaming site. A safe haven for gaming’s female demographic, where all things girl-related concerning videogames can be discussed, admired, and criticized without fear of stunted discrimination. Yet, the site’s ‘Latest Reviews’ page rarely contains titles that offer the female demographic a true girl’s adventure in terms of character content—and this is not down to coverage choice, but publishing trend. Well, allow Activision and Raven to put that little inadequacy to rest. Here come the X-Men.

X-Men Legends II: Rise of Apocalypse. Not a particularly good start considering the “Men” of the title, but look beyond the overtly male packaging and you’ll find an instantly accessible game that allows players to freely exercise interchangeable character favoritism from start to finish. And that’s the key. The game itself plays somewhat like Phantasy Star Online; it’s a third-person adventure that embraces progress via action more than careful exploration. And though not an RPG in the strictest sense of the word, character interaction with NPCs is certainly in evidence but not essential to the game’s evolution. At its core, the player leads a band of four on-screen mutants from chapter to chapter, and each of them steadily levels-up in strength and ability through experience points amassed by defeating foes—and here’s where ThumbBandits’ faithful female followers get their money’s worth.

If so inclined, players can elect a four-strong team of mixed sex mutants, or same sex, and for once that means choosing from a broad selection of powerful and interesting male and female characters. Though the guys still outweigh the gals, including the likes of Cyclops, Wolverine, Juggernaut, Colossus, Magneto, Nightcrawler Iceman, and more, the female offering includes Jean Grey, Rogue, Storm, and Scarlet Witch. Other non-playable lady mutants appear during the story, and it’s a shame that Mystique is not included to the playable ranks, but it’s still not often that a videogame places its entire female contingent in prime position for complete and utter ass kicking from the off—and X-Men Legends II is all the more refreshing because of this.

Progressive leveling-up can be assigned directly by the player or automatically by the game, and increases character special moves and mutant abilities, as well as providing better access to the wealth of applicable equipment options. The equipment store is situated in various ‘base headquarter’ areas within the game, where players will also find other members of the X-Men and Brotherhood who offer advice and mission tips. This is also where players can interact with Professor Xavier (voiced by Patrick Stewart), who doles out mission directives and generally acts as the fragile balance between the two bands of mutant forces.

Aesthetically, Rise of Apocalypse is slickly presented throughout. Visuals are well crafted, from the impressively rendered story sequences, to in-game design, character models, and overall animation. Frame rate levels remain constant and secure amidst often-frenetic onscreen action and the player never feels separated from the brawling. Character controls initially border on the worryingly extensive, yet soon become second nature as intuitively swift button combination’s provide instant access to great sways of impressive mutant moves. Game sound is also fabulously complementary, and ably enhances the experience with a moodily orchestrated score accompanied by snappy mutant dialogue and resonating sound effects. The central story is well voiced by all attending actors, and those players with hearing deficiencies can fully enjoy each passing event through the implementation of comprehensive subtitles.

Beyond the game’s central story mode, Rise of Apocalypse also has a co-op mode and online multiplayer options (for up to 4 players) via Network Ethernet. And, through the attainment of various hidden items in the main game, players can also unlock masses of extra content, including classic comic covers, concept artwork, character pin-ups, and ‘danger room’ missions for special bonuses. All in all, there’s plenty to hold your attention should the main game become stale—which it probably won’t.

Running against the usual flowing dirge of comic book videogames, Activision has turned in a pretty impressive year where Marvel licenses are concerned. Ultimate Spider-Man certainly swung elegantly from publisher to consumer, and now X-Men Legends II: Rise of Apocalypse offers solid third-person thrills, an intriguing plot, relentless action, progressive leveling, and mass character variety. Let us all turn a blind eye to the truly abhorrent Fantastic 4—but two out of three winners in a genre that generally disappoints is still an admirable achievement.

Review by Stevie

Henshin-a-go-go baby! The immortal words of Viewtiful Joe, back again for his second outing. At first I was a little worried as I had heard that the only difference was a new character. Oh my god! Not another game gone the way of Devil may cry two – lets add a character and that will be enough to warrant a new game! However, it seems that Joe may have a little more up his sleeve.

Layout and Menu systems
The layout of this system is very simplistic. All the fonts look rather childish and are very brightly colored. This just adds to the games fun image. It is really easy to understand and navigate your way through the menu systems. With all the colors flashing around it is difficult not to enjoy yourself just thinking about playing the game.

Graphics
As with the previous game the graphics are not state of the art but the way they are designed is nothing short of artistic genius. It is almost like being able to control the events in an old movie. A mixture of old cartoons and comic book drawings. I am a major fan of movies and comic books, so this style graphic design appeals to me in so many ways, So colourful. Just stunning.

Sound
Viewtiful Joe has some of the best sounds of any game I have heard in a while. The music is full of Chunky guitar riffs and whaling solos. In a nut shell the sounds of this game add so much to the game purely because it adds to the fun of the game. I loved the music in the first and I love the music in this game even more. If you love cheesy film music from the late eighties and early nineties, you will love it.

Playability
This game is very easy to get into and even easier to love. The controls are easy to understand and the levels are just generally good fun. Due to the introduction of a new character there are some new moves available to purchase. This adds a bit of length to the play time of the game. If the plot doesn’t have you intrigued or in stitches of laughter then I will eat my hat. (Please don’t make me eat my hat as it has hard bits in it).

Lastability
Unfortunately, Viewtiful Joe 2 has a limited lastability. There are only so many hours that you can punch and kick in slow mo and fast forward before you get a little tired of it. Even with the new moves it seems that the entertainment can only last you until you have completed the game. Once you have done that then you have probably played enough. If you haven’t then you could always try to complete the game with a perfect score…

Who is this game for?
This game is mainly for fans of the first game I would say. There isn’t a vast difference between this game and the first. However, I feel this game would probably be better liked by female gamers due to the introduction of a strong female character. One let down is that the game has no subtitles. Sometimes the voices are difficult to understand. Those with hearing difficulties would find this particularly irritating and would find the story hard to follow. The story is a little odd anyway. Let’s turn people into Oscars!!! GREAT!

Pros and Cons
+ Colourful graphics
+ Great Character Voices
+ Cool moves
+ Unlockable moves
+ Generally good fun

- Sylvia does tend to be a little annoying
- Music becomes repetitive (Just like the commentary)
- No subtitles to show what the characters are saying.
- Two playable characters but no two player mode? Hmmm…

The First hour
Pre-game –Looked at the game in complete awe, for I had waited many moons to try this sequel. I had to clean the drool from the disc so I could play it. Also prepped myself for all the witty dialogue I was about to hear.

After 30 mins – I had managed to make it through the first couple of sections without a blemish and I had also achieved a viewtiful score each time (I rock).

After 45 mins – This was a good moment as I could finally afford to get double mach speed. Oh the joy!

After 60 mins – Was starting to feel the repetitiveness of the game. However, I continued to punch my way through hoards of bad guys.

Viewtiful Joe 2 is a good game. Good playability, nice graphics, thoroughly entertaining. However, there just isn’t enough new material for a sequel. In my opinion this game only merits an 8/10. I love this game but I think that so much more could have been added. Not quite disappointing but a little bit of let down. Still a brilliantly weaved game. Capcom…keep them coming.

Review by Stephen

Viewtiful Joe has often caught my eyes on the game store shelf when I’ve been browsing for new games but since I haven’t really bought a new Gamecube game in months, I’ve consistently overlooked this title and went for something on the Xbox or PS2 shelf. When a copy of Viewtiful Joe popped through the letterbox for the PS2 however I couldn’t help but be a little excited at finally getting to experience this game. I’d heard some good things about the Cube version and I have to say I wasn’t at all disappointed with the PS2 port.The first thing I noticed about Viewtiful Joe is just how fantastic the graphics look. The unusual cell shading mixed with a retro feel to the game makes it instantly attractive and interesting to view. The tongue-in-cheek cartoony feel of the game mixed with the 2D/3D graphics provide a lush and detailed setting for your adventure featuring movie fan Joe.

Joe is just your average guy, out for the evening with his girlfriend, treating her to one of his favorite old fighting movies at the local cinema. When his beloved girlfriend is snatched by the Darth Vader-esque villain on the screen and sucked into the movie, Joe has to step up to the plate and become the hero he’s always dreamt of being. He is guided in his quest by Captain Blue, a true hero who has now passed and whom Joe must live up to.

The beginning of the game only hints at what is to come. You enter into a very basic training mode which shows you how to kick and punch however this is only scratching the surface of what Joe can do. He truly is a superhero worthy of challenging any others for their crown. His maneuvers gradually grow throughout the game and although you start off with basic moves capable of defeating most enemies, the fun lay in expanding your range and pulling off some truly breathtaking moves. As Joe progresses he learns new combos and outlandish feats of strength and power. In fact you’re rewarded for the more insane and ridiculous moves you can pull off when attacking your enemies and trust me there are plenty of enemies around. The enemies in the game are as unusual as the rest of the graphics. You’ll regularly encounter soldiers, bats, mummies, flying leprechaun like creatures and more.

As you make your way through the game, the aim is to rescue your girlfriend whilst becoming the superhero you already feel you are in your own mind. The Kung-fu like fighting merges perfectly with the old movie touches added to the overall look of the game. You make your way through a series of episodes and you’re graded after each of these and within each scenario inside these also. The grades range from V (Viewtiful), A (Awesome), B (Baaaad), C (Crappy) and D (D’Oh!), and the more cool moves you pull off the higher the grade. You’ll also have the opportunity to power up as you move through the game and this is a brilliant addition as not only does it help you achieve the moves you’ll need to progress later on but it also lets you buy extra hearts and health etc to keep you playing longer. Oh a word of warning here, if you’re hoping to save then please put you memory card in when you start the game. I had serious trouble trying to save at the save points throughout because i hadn’t used a memory card at the beginning. You will definitely want to save your game because it can be very taxing at times and there are a few difficult areas which will take some time to work out. Don’t let this put you off though because this is in part what makes the game so good. It’s challenging but never loses its sense of fun with it. On a few occasions early on I found myself getting a little frustrated at what to do next but that’s purely because I hadn’t yet learned how to best use the special skills that Joe has. Once you learn how to use these it really adds to the feeling that you’re interacting with your environment. Joe can slow down time which is brilliant for attacking difficult enemies and multiple enemies. It can also be used to help slow down fans and moving platforms so you can proceed. He can also use mach speed to speedily go where no Joe has gone before and this is perfect for attacking bosses.

The more you play, the more confident you’ll become in attempting new moves in combination with special abilities and its these that will boost your scores. The inclusion of VFW power means that there’s a good balance between the length of time you can stay in special abilities mode. It lasts a fairly long time and in VFX mode you can perform your way out moves. If it runs out you revert back to being dull old normal clothed Joe but don’t worry that doesn’t last long and you can still punch and kick in this mode anyway. The controls for fighting are tight and accurate. No need for numerous buttons and menus etc in this game, its straight forward but accomplishes so much. It makes you feel that you’re obtaining great fighting combos with very little effort and that’s another great aspect of the game.

The sounds in Viewtiful Joe are spot on. They sound like traditional comic book sounds if thats possible. There’s the thwack, bop, thud type noises and of course the soundtrack running in the background to add a little atmosphere. The inclusion of cheers and clapping when you do something amazing really makes you feel like its part of a movie, as well as the director shouting instructions when you die, take a break and so much more.

Female Gamer Angle: Obviously you’re only playing as Joe, he’s the hero and you’re saving his girlfriend, but who cares! It’s great fun and as we always say here at Thumb Bandits… we as female gamers want good games, sure it would be nice to be able to play the girl rescuing the boy or indeed girl, but it’s just not going to happen that soon.

Overall, Viewtiful Joe is a brilliantly addictive unusual game. I’m not sure how it is quite classified but that just doesn’t matter when it’s this much fun. Clover Studios have done a brilliant job of porting this over and Capcom are onto a winner with this title. There are numerous hidden bonus characters to unlock and the PS2 version is lucky enough to have Dante from Devil May Cry as one of those unlockables. This game doesn’t really alter much as it progresses however it doesn’t seem to become dull. It feels fun and it makes you want to continue playing. A completely engaging game which is definitely a must have for any PS2 owner. Go buy now. ‘Cut, Cut, Cut!’.

Review by Tracy

In the past, big-name Hollywood movies have often been mirrored by a separate release that follows an almost exact vein of subject matter. Most notably, in 1991 Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves clashed swords with (surprise, surprise) Robin Hood, and in 1994 Kurt Russell’s Tombstone faced down Kevin Costner’s Wyatt Earp behind the OK Corral. In short, rival companies occasionally squeeze the same genre for all it’s worth, while exploiting incredibly similar structure, narrative, and execution.

What came first, the chicken or the egg? Well, in this case, the chicken is Radical’s Hulk: Ultimate Destruction, and the egg is Activision’s Ultimate Spider-Man, and their respective release dates would decree that the chicken did indeed come first—by just over a month. Yet 30 days of birthing separation apart, the two games are almost exactly the same. Their aesthetics may differ, their storylines and characters may follow separate paths, and their creators may not share the same studio space, but the similarities are glaringly obvious. And, while Ultimate Spider-Man is an incredibly slick, well-crafted, and beautifully presented game, it unfortunately suffers through those similarities and the later release.

Set across a sprawled, free-roaming New York City environment, Ultimate Spider-Man revolves around Peter Parker’s emergent battle against long-time friend Eddie Brock as he assumes his father’s ‘legacy’ and becomes the evil Venom. However, in a gameplay twist—and somewhat oddly in terms of central empathy—players also intermittently assume the role of Brock’s Venom during the game’s unfolding plot. Along the way, both Spidey and Venom will encounter and battle various Marvel-inspired heroes and villains, such as X-Men’s Wolverine, the Green Goblin, Electro, The Human Torch, R.H.I.N.O, Silver Sable, Nick Fury, and Carnage. All of which lend an expansive and ever-apparent sensation of comic authenticity to the experience, while playing some minor role in the game’s leading narrative.

All-important gameplay is handled superbly well for Spidey, as he swings and springs effortlessly from street to street and building to building, the player never once having to struggle with web-shooter control thanks to the game’s intuitive location awareness and immediate button response when needed. However, Venom’s controls differ somewhat in that he’s able to leap across great distances while possessing super-human strength and power. Unfortunately the towering skyscrapers of New York don’t often allow for a genuine sense of free movement while using Venom, but thankfully the game’s core element is occupied with Spider-Man, and Venom’s appearances are limited to narrative twists and story explanations.

Interacting with the environment in its entirety means plenty of easy and joyous web-swinging and wall-crawling fun while also enjoying considerable acrobatic prowess and crime purging through an array of effective and impressive fight moves. Vast distance can be covered quickly and, quite frankly, you’ll never tire of enthusiastically swinging to your required destinations. Plenty of icon-marked timed ‘races’ across rooftops and through city streets, coupled with ‘combat tours’ against various roaming street gangs, lead the player gently down a road of familiarity with Spidey and soon his movement and fight controls become fluid and second nature. Completion of map-prompted ‘city events’ such as sporadic muggings, varied rescues, and thug confrontations open further scripted story-arc moments and generally provide the highlighted segues between boss battles, plot expansion, and temporarily assuming the role of Venom.

Graphically, Ultimate Spider-Man closely resembles a living three-dimensional comic, with considered artistic attention invested in the inked line weights and slightly exaggerated comic design of the characters. This impressive in-game feel is furthered by the application of cel-shading, which, while adding extra depth in terms of 3D during close-ups, does perhaps compromise the 2D world that’s providing inspiration for the game—to the extent that cut-sequence characters appear a little ill-fitting and chunky. Environmental depth is broad in scope and unfailingly crisp in execution, while detail fade-out over extreme height and distance is subtly handled without losing that invaluable sense of stretching horizons and dizzying vertigo. Animation is fabulous throughout, the game betraying no sign of chop or slow-down as Spidey assuredly swings down busy city streets alive with chatting pedestrians and frantic traffic. Presentation is, on the whole, wonderfully captured and unfailing in its quality.

Game sound is handled well, and exists through a dramatic musical score overlaid with guiding Spidey dialogue, comedic one-liners, dense ambiance, and peripheral NPC chatter. Fight sound is suitably meaty without ever crossing the blurry line from comic book to realistic, and indeed all the audio aspects fit together comfortably and are complementary to the overall game by their relative innocuous nature. While never forcing their way into your psyche by way of repetition or monotony, the sound elements always remain on just the right side of noteworthy. Unlike most narrative-heavy videogames, Ultimate Spider-Man strangely offers its hard of hearing demographic no in-game subtitle option, though the comic cut sequences do contain text so the story shouldn’t be completely lost. And dedicated girls gamers are sadly left with no playable female heroine, the game only offering up NPCs in the form of mysterious Silver Sable, and the ever-faithful Mary Jane Parker. Spider-Girl? Now there’s a thought, eh, Marvel?

Obvious comparisons with Hulk: Ultimate Destruction exist through the employment of the GTA-esque free-roaming gameplay mechanic, arena-based boss battles, collection of hidden tokens to unlock masses of game extras, and map-prompted story elements, not to mention the almost identical gameplay feeling derived from both titles. Whereas Ultimate Spider-Man certainly outshines Hulk in terms of gloss and polish, the big lumbering green menace usurps Spidey through immersion factor. Swinging merrily through lively New York streets simply doesn’t compare to the absolute ‘destructive’ pleasure procured from Ultimate Destruction. Indeed, the oddly disruptive Venom interludes offered up in Ultimate Spider-Man lean heavily toward that missing element of player power not found within Spidey’s elegant repertoire. Venom can leap across distances, clamber up tall buildings, and fling cars, bikes and trucks at enemies…much like the Hulk. Perhaps some inter-studio spying took place between the two development teams? Who knows?

However, the simple fact remains that though Ultimate Spider-Man is a visually stunning and thoroughly entertaining title, true to its source material, and undoubtedly fun to play, it doesn’t quite achieve the same levels of satisfaction provoked by Hulk: Ultimate Destruction. Of course, specific character fans will naturally gravitate toward their favorite hero—and neither will be disappointed—but for those more comic-neutral gamers, Mr. Hulk provides the more rounded, all-powerful, and immediately visceral experience. Ultimate Spider-Man is quietly graceful, immensely enjoyable, and beautifully realized, but the fizzing spit of web shooters and warning buzz of spidey-sense simply can’t overthrow that basic compulsion to “Smash!!” anything and everything while gleefully succumbing to Ultimate Destruction’s gritty superiority.

Review by Stevie