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.

Tut…sigh…groan…grumble…yawn. There are times when industrious perseverance and dedication to the written craft can quickly descend to craving the submission of the 5 aforementioned words as a full and printable description for a videogame review. And, unsurprisingly, the temptation to implement this timesaving minimalist approach to reviewing generally occurs when dealing with bland and unoriginal Hollywood tie-ins. So, without further ado, let me introduce you to the wonder of Zathura.

“The intergalactic journey begins when a mysterious board game thrusts the house of two young brothers, Walter and Danny, into outer space. The boys must put aside their sibling rivalry, and players must utilise each character’s unique strengths, to survive each challenge. Battle deadly aliens, menacing robots and other celestial hazards in the space journey filled with action-packed adventure in order to get back home safely to planet Earth.”

Tut: Zathura is essentially a 3D platform game consisting of simplistic button pushing and obstacle dodging, mundane door opening and platform navigation, and repetitive enemy blasting and dull item collection to unlock Zathura-based extras in the Start menu. As an experience it offers nothing especially taxing to its audience, and its single ‘difficulty’ setting and 22 levels can be rattled off in a measly 4-5 hours. Criticism here may well be deflected by publisher and developer alike due to the game’s youthful 10+ target demographic, but that would only further expose their collective ignorance concerning adolescent consumers as ANY gamer of 10+ will demolish Zathura without breaking a sweat and then subsequently wonder exactly why they bothered.

Sigh: In terms of recent gaming quality it’s a case of ever-decreasing circles with Hollywood tie-ins, while the publishing profit circles are seemingly ever expanding. And Zathura exists as a truly blatant attempt to prize those last few pennies from unknowing parents keen to pad out the Zathura movie experience for their children—not many kids standing in GAME with money to burn are likely to reach for Zathura, regardless of its 19,99 price point.

Groan: Aesthetically, Zathura occupies that grey middle ground where nothing in the game causes waves of uncontrollable nausea, but also fails in every way to inspire anything beyond frowns of disappointment. Visuals are flat and unoriginal, colours insipid and dull, and animation is jerky, weightless, and thoroughly unconvincing (apart from the occasional robot levels—yes you get to control a robot as well as Walter and Danny—which only work as said robot doesn’t require accurate human movement). Game sound and dialogue are delivered without passion or emotion, and the effects are hollow and lack aural kick; the constant and poorly delivered arguing of the two brothers quickly grates the senses (and the accompanying story subtitles are even resplendent with spelling and grammar mistakes). The musical score is fairly impressive, though it is, of course, taken directly from the movie and therefore conveniently more impressive than the rest of the game package. Ultimately, Zathura performs more like an old PS1 game and, considering the squeezed power presently available through the PlayStation 2, that’s downright appalling.

Grumble: Gameplay in Zathura is instantly recognisable, and players will easily grasp the mechanics of necessary jumps, platform navigation, button pushes, weaponry usage, and boss clashes. Yet, that immediate familiarity will also expose the game’s central failing: it’s all been done before—and SO much better. Character control is easy enough; it’s lots of repetitious running and fighting from room to room in space stations and galactic prisons, with intermittent levelled platform negotiation through lazily designed environments including fiery lava pits, dust-filled canyons, and giant floating asteroids. However, every gameplay element, though passable in terms of execution, is fundamentally disgraced by a total lack of ANY innovation and/or originality. Every available weapon causes damage, regardless of the opposition; there’s never a need to select an appropriate tool for the job. Buttons to open doors are never hidden, or restricted, there’s no puzzle element and a sense of achievement through progression. And boss clashes are laughably easy. There’s nothing new on show to test player ability, no fresh angles, and no perplexing reinvention. Nothing. It’s routine and by the numbers from start to finish, and, frankly, it’s just not good enough.

Yawn: As per usual, girl gamers don’t get a look in with Zathura when it comes to playable female characters. Its central male protagonists (including an NPC astronaut later in the game) are all thoroughly dislikeable, and the robot, which is ‘technically’ without gender is referred to as a ‘he’ by the two brothers throughout the game. There’s not a woman in sight during Zathura—but then most girl characters wouldn’t wish to be associated with such a profit-scraping exercise in mediocrity. It’s about time that some kind of independent QA board (consisting of videogame consumers perhaps) was set up to monitor and control the output of publishers and developers in the videogame industry, especially when some companies strive tirelessly to create products of the utmost quality. The reduced price point of Zathura does not excuse its complete inability to provide anything more than a paint by numbers sideshow to the glitzy Hollywood product, and its absolute failure to achieve the most basic of gaming requirements: fun. Boo and, indeed, hiss.

Review by Stevie

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

We Love Katamari is one of those rare sequels that you await with great anticipation. The original game was entitled Katamari Damacy and it was a quirky Japanese mega-hit that had millions of players addicted to rolling sticky balls around the screen to make them bigger. We Love Katamari takes up where the first game left off, but don’t worry if you haven’t played the original, this game is so easy to pick up and play that you’ll be fine jumping straight into the gameplay.

The most striking aspect of We Love Katamari is the simplicity of its storyline. Basically, the overall purpose of the game is to roll your ‘Katamari’ around the game world and make it big enough to create new stars in the cosmos. Your character is ‘The Prince’ and your father ‘The King’ has sent you out on this task to replace the stars he has lost. In-game, there are fans of the Katamari who will ask you to perform certain tasks, and the King—ever eager to stroke his own ego—will assign you these tasks and bask in your resulting glory.

This particular outing for Katamari allows you to go ball rolling in more varied and interesting environments than the previous title. You can roll your Katamari underwater, through enchanted forests, in schools, and even in outer space. This variety keeps the game fresh and interesting and some of the backgrounds are hilarious. You’ll realize at times that you’re sticking people, animals, toilets, TVs, fences and every other thing you can imagine to your Katamari in your quest to make it as big as you can in such a short time.

Some of the levels in We Love Katamari are extremely difficult so don’t expect this game to be finished easily. Just because it appears cute doesn’t mean it’s made for babies. In one particular level—where you have to ‘roll up the sun’—the task is so difficult it can be frustrating at times. Things are made much easier if you’ve already played the first Katamari game as you can load your existing cosmos and stars directly into this title and use those. If you don’t have that option then be prepared for a fairly taxing time getting past the ‘roll up the sun’ level. The controls are the same as the first game, where you use both analogue sticks to roll the Katamari. It can take some time to get used to this movement mechanic, but it’s a very inventive way of controlling the movement on screen and it works really well. There are also plenty of extras in this outing, with an unlimited supply of cousins showing up, clothes to be collected to personalize your character, and various other presents.

The graphics in We Love Katamari are excellent, and not because they are necessarily groundbreaking in any way, but more because they’re so bright and sharp and truly highlight the fun and bizarre feeling within the game. There’s a lot more variation in the graphics than was seen in the first title and their simplicity really pays off; while they don’t seem to push the PS2 to its limits, the gameplay is so original that it doesn’t really matter.

One of the best and more fascinating aspects in We Love Katamari is the game sound. This title has some addictive quirky songs playing throughout—and I challenge anyone who’s played the game not to go off humming them afterwards. The songs are completely insane. They are filled with Jap-pop that bounces along nicely with the gameplay. There’s not much in the way of actual sound effects really, however it’s not that important to the overall package. What is there works fine for the tasks and you’ll be enjoying listening to the music so much you probably won’t care about the sound effects at all. Deaf gamers can happily and easily play We Love Katamari and, although it’s unfortunate that they won’t hear the excellent songs, they can still have plenty of fun with the game.

With regards to the female gaming aspect, in this title you play The Prince, there’s no choice when it comes to playing as a Princess but, again, it’s really not an issue. There are females in the game who play their parts, mainly as the fans who want more Katamari. It really doesn’t matter that much, though, in terms of gameplay gender, but perhaps the next incarnation of Katamari will offer up the chance to play as a girl? That would be cool, but, as things stand, the lack of a playable female character isn’t something that in any way ruins the overall game.

The multiplayer aspect of We Love Katamari has some excellent new additions. You can still play against your friends in VS. mode, where you’re both competing to get the best Katamari within an allotted time. The cool new feature is that you and a partner can play cooperatively. This is where you work together to control the Katamari with you taking control of one analogue stick while your friend controls the other. This can be excellent fun, but can also prove frustrating if you don’t work together the entire time.

Overall, We Love Katamari is yet another excellent outing for a game that certainly deserved its success first time around. The concept is so sickeningly simple yet so utterly compelling and addictive, it effortlessly shows that modern videogames don’t have to boast superlative graphics and exceedingly deep narratives to be brilliant fun to play.

Review by Tracy

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

Urban Chaos has slid unnoticed onto the gaming scene amid a deafening lack of fanfare; patiently twiddling its inventive first-person shooter thumbs while waiting for some form of consumer reaction. Thus far, it hasn’t really had any; slipping in and out of the ELSPA’s Top-20 All-Format chart within the space of a single week. As of this week’s chart, Urban Chaos isn’t even in the Top-40, while complete dross such as FIFA Street 2 has held fast to the chart for some 20 weeks—EA’s truly awful street-soccer sequel proving to be both bewilderingly popular and a completely different form of ‘urban chaos’.

Perhaps it’s the title that turns gamers away: Urban Chaos: Riot Response; granted, it sounds a little naff, but, have faith, what lies within is certainly worthy of your attention. First-person shooters are two-a-penny these days, and most are shamefully hollow attempts at mirroring the past achievements of other, far superior efforts. What Urban Chaos brings to the genre is blatantly violent overindulgence, a twisted sense of news anchor-inspired humor, intriguingly addictive run-and-gun action, confrontational hostage situations, and a wealth of instantly usable unlockable features that are gained dependent on level-to-level performance.

Urban Chaos is guilty of delivering a slightly less than polished package amid a frenetically paced presentation, which does dull the overall positive impression somewhat, though it’s still an experience unlikely to disappoint—and players would be wise to remember that the tarnished gleam of gold does not compromise its true value.

In a city overrun by a criminal arson-loving gang known as ‘The Burners’, the player is dispatched as part of a controversial new police ‘riot response’ unit called ‘T-Zero’ (Zero Tolerance?) to quell the uprising and return a state of order. However, as the central story unfolds via live-action news anchor segues, which serve as convenient waypoints for T-Zero’s missions and also televised platforms for the growing citywide destruction and criticism regarding the unit’s ‘excessive’ methods, it soon becomes evident that The Burners are a tool for deeper, more influential, and more sinister motivations. The storyline isn’t exactly an example of first-rate creative writing, and each twist of its narrative path will be fairly predictable for those already well versed in the FPS genre. However, Urban Chaos never rests on its plot for entertainment value, instead choosing to rely on a high level of gameplay quality to successfully secure unswerving player participation.

It achieves this by utilizing the basics of first-person gunplay with a staunch reliance on what works, and the avoidance of what doesn’t. For example, weapon selection is quick and easy, aiming fluidity is smooth but requires analogue precision, enemies come thick and fast (perhaps to hide the sometimes stilted A.I.), mission briefs and individual related tasks tie together well and unlock plenty of inspiring ‘unapproved’ T-Zero weaponry, and the difficulty level is always just the right side of “I’ll do it this time!” when the light of heaven shines down on your bullet-riddled corpse. The in-game action in constantly appealing, not least because of the incredibly graphic nature of enemy deaths; the rag-doll physics and blood spatter are both ramped up to 11 in Urban Chaos, and the level designs always lead without ever making the player feel overly led.

There are various interesting facets woven into the gameplay of Urban Chaos, all of which add significantly to an otherwise by-the-numbers FPS thrill ride. Firstly, there are specific medals that can (and really must) be earned during each mission. Certain set tasks relevant to each mission exist as secondary targets beyond the obvious extermination of opposing Burners. These tasks include actually arresting a number of enemies via a ‘non-lethal’ electricity-delivering stun weapon—which is disturbingly gratifying when you let loose at close quarters, then there’s a set amount of morbid ‘sharpshooter head shots’ that must also be harvested from the willing criminal hordes, plus the non-lethal capture of gang leaders, and also the collection of hidden evidence that’s scattered throughout each level. Other medals are awarded for getting through a level in one attempt and not reverting to a mid-level checkpoint after dying.

Naturally, levels can be completed without accomplishing any of the aforementioned tasks, but then enjoyable weapon, armor, and accessory add-ons remain beyond reach, which deprives the player of some genuine modification fun. Also, medal attainment opens access to ‘emergency’ levels, which throw the player into frantic rescue missions against the clock—but with the added attraction of prototype T-Zero weaponry that can be secured within the player’s armory upon completion.

Then there’s the invaluable T-Zero ‘riot shield’, which can be brought up defensively at any time to deflect standard bullets, shotgun blasts, high velocity rounds, and shrapnel from nearby explosions, while also serving as an effective barrier with which to pass through walls of fire. When facing Burners in close confines, the riot shield can also be used as a fairly devastating weapon when it’s brutally thrust into the face of anyone unlucky enough to get in its way.

The riot shield also plays a major part in the various graphically entertaining ‘hostage situations’ that crop up across Urban Chaos. Whenever the player encounters a hostage situation, the riot shield must be employed in order to shuffle carefully forward as bullets continually smash you backward. The Burner holding the hostage will himself shimmy backwards while hurling bullets, Molotov cocktails, and foul language in the player’s direction and protecting himself with a terrified human shield. But be wary, if you draw too close, the Burner will mercilessly execute the hostage and take flight—leading to an immediate ‘game over’. But, with a little distance and patience, the deadly game can always be won—and the end result is often worth the wait. Everyone has to reload sooner or later, and when the Burner attempts to slide home a fresh clip, the game automatically shifts into slow-mo, zooms in slightly on the hostage, and the player has a strictly limited time to lower their riot shield, take precarious aim, and send (sometimes successive) headshots at the exposed Burner. Without going into any spoiling detail, these little adrenaline-friendly set pieces often end in a creatively gratuitous fashion for the hostage taker. Laughter seems somewhat out of place considering the gravity of each hostage situation, but chuckles may still escape players’ lips at the bloody climax of each confrontation.

Graphically and aurally, Urban Chaos: Riot Response is not a frontrunner for any PlayStation 2 development awards, but it performs fairly well throughout and the bland character designs, forgettable atmospheric score, gritty presentation, and little moments of chop and obvious jagging are forgivable beside the game’s additively entertaining ethos. Deaf or hard-of-hearing gamers can follow Urban Chaos in its entirety thanks to full subtitle accompaniment from start to finish both while in play and during the CNN-style anchor segues. Unfortunately, the death-dealing protagonist behind the vast array of weaponry is male, although there’s never any close up evidence of the fact. But, as with most FPS titles, the gender of the main character quickly becomes an afterthought amid the steadily growing body count.

Urban Chaos: Riot Response is a cracking FPS addition with enough fresh action nuance, shamelessly graphic action, potty-mouth dialogue, and original gameplay elements to successfully raise it above most—but not all—similar genre titles. Some gamers may wince at the gore, shake their heads at the obscenities, and point fingers at the grime, while others will pile in gleefully and let the hard-hitting but tongue-in-cheek nature of the game sweep them effortlessly along for the ride.

Review by Stevie

I’d been looking forward to having a look at this title since I heard the premise of the game being discussed on a TV gaming show a while back. The idea that you can play the aliens and for a change get to scare and chase the humans sounded like a fresh idea and the fact it was wrapped up in a cartoon like package made it seem even more promising. Under The Skin is brought to us by the same kind folks who made Viewtiful Joe and when you first start the game up you do get the same feeling from the graphics, bright, cheery, fun and unusual.

The aim of the game is to guide Cosmi through various levels in order for him to return home a hero to Planet Mischief where the ‘kids’ are banished at age 3 to go to Earth and practice their trickery on poor humans. Cosmi is a little blue alien who looks like Stitch (from Lilo and Stitch) and a Pikmins lovechild. Very cute and extremely versatile. Cosmi is instructed by his superior known as Master Itazura who is a very odd Japanese alien that talks by way of a hand puppet, yes.. i did just say that. Its all very odd and has an environment reminiscent of Jet Set Radio. Cosmi is informed that he can simply capture humans and take on their characteristics so that he can go about his business of playing pranks on them whilst being able to evade them with the change in appearance. Basically the aim is to obtain as many gold coins as possible in each level whilst completing the other goals. This is obtained by playing pranks on the humans which then gifts you gold coins. It all sounds very dull but its actually quite amusing and fun especially due to the level designs and the humor inherent in the game.

As I mentioned previously, the graphics are absorbing and unusual. The intro scene looks just like a cartoon that you’d see on any children’s hour on TV. There are numerous amusing touches thrown in however for the seasoned gamer. One of the best of the diverse levels is the ability to visit Raccoon city, yes the same Raccoon city where Resident Evil is set. In this particular level you have to defeat Nemesis and have the opportunity to capture and thus take on the characteristics of most of the main Resi Evil characters. Brilliant fun and very amusing that there are zombies trying to get you in this level. Some of the other levels are great fun also such as the take off of Dracula where you can play a Priest and have to avoid Death. The levels have been thoughtfully created and the characters are adapted to suit the level you’re playing. The backgrounds are bright and interesting but you won’t get much time to take it all in because you’ll be too busy evading angry humans shouting ‘alien!’.

The pranks that you play are textbook practical jokes, oversized boxing glove, tacks on the floor, lightning bolts, emitting awful gaseous odours and more. Each human has different magic tricks and jokes you can steal and you need to learn which ones are going to work best for you in which situation, such as making sure you pick a priest to exorcise Death in Pranksylvania. These skills aren’t difficult to master and the controls are fine for what you’re doing. There’s no confusion and no menu heavy control system here, its pretty much pick up and play although I do recommend doing the tutorial first and then entering the Dojo for a little practice. There is also the addition of a feature in each of the levels known as Panic Time which basically is a period of time where you’re put in even more danger by various items in the scene. Its fun and its interesting and it can get a little crazy trying to avoid insane crowds as well as panic time items. The sounds in the game fit the style of it perfectly. Its all very upbeat and fun and it adds to the overall enjoyment of the game. Some of the best sound effects are from Master Itazura and of course the panicked humans. These made me chuckle out loud at times and really added to my enjoyment.

There are a few problems with the game however which is a real pity because the originality of it could have made this a classic. The game is too short overall. Yes there are quite a few levels to work your way through and they are all different from each other adding a little variety to the game, however, ultimately you’re pretty much doing the same thing for each level albeit under different guises. The other problem I have with the game is that some of it can be a little frustrating. It’s not hard as such, more repetitive when you fail the tasks the first time. It does offer a VS mode as well as story mode though and this can be fun in itself. Playing through story mode unlocks characters and bonuses in the rest of the game so this adds a little to the longevity of it.

The female gamer here can enjoy this game on the same level as any male gamer. There’s no choice of playing a female alien in story mode, but you can unlock female aliens to play in VS mode. Also because you’re jumping in and out of humans all the time and taking on their characteristics it really doesn’t matter much. It’s definitely a game which can appeal to all ages and both sexes.

Overall this is an unusual, engaging game which could have been absolutely outstanding. If there had been a little more variety in the game play, some more depth to the game overall and more longevity then I would have been very tempted to give this game a 9 primarily because of its original concept and fantastic graphics. As it stands however it loses valuable points because of the flaws I’ve mentioned above. If this title comes down in price its definitely worth checking out as I feel more experienced gamers might not be that impressed with it overall which is a real shame as it is a little gem of a game.

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