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.

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

Tomb Raider: Anniversary is inspired by the first Tomb Raider title, released way back in 1996 (yes it truly was that long ago some of us popped Lara into our Sega Saturns and were wowed). The title now has a fresh coat of paint, thanks to Crystal Dynamics, the company that managed to breathe new (and much needed) life into the Tomb Raider franchise, when they released Tomb Raider Legend. Is Tomb Raider Anniversary worth the money, or is it simply just a prettier version of its former self? Let’s take a look…

At the time of release, the original Tomb Raider was revolutionary. Not only did it feature one of the first cool female protagonists in a video game, but it also featured graphics and sound that had gamers agog. As the franchise went on however, it seemed to get a little worse for wear, all culminating in the abysmal Tomb Raider: Angel of Darkness. Eidos seemed to have completely dropped the ball; enter Crystal Dynamics.

Thankfully when Crystal Dynamics took over Tomb Raider development duties they knew what had gone wrong in Angel of Darkness and remedied the problems in the release of Tomb Raider Legend. Now they’re back with what is essentially a retelling of the original Tomb Raider title. The story is the same, along with the majority of levels, though they’ve all been given a new graphical sheen and brought bang up to date. Along with the graphical and sound mark-up (easily playable by the deaf or hard of hearing gamer, with only the click of timed puzzles perhaps a tiny hindrance), Tomb Raider: Anniversary also features a much improved control mechanism, along with new moves and the same massive and beautiful level design of the original. There’s also some nice little touches along the way, such as glistening skin when exiting water, smoke trails from a gun or just the overall look of those gorgeous levels, each detailed superbly by comparison to the original.

The gameplay in Tomb Raider: Anniversary is a doddle for those already familiar with the franchise and particularly those that played Tomb Raider Legend more recently. The only real downside of the title would be a few tricky sections on levels where camera angle and movement sequence really don’t do each other any favours. This can lead to a few extremely frustrating moments as Lara back-flips her way to her doom, but overall this niggle should in no way hinder all the fun.

The Female Gamer angle on this one is of course superlative, this is Lara Croft after all. Yes, of course, as we’ve mentioned in previous Lara outings, she is overtly sexualised, though still one hell of a tough gaming babe. She’s more lithe than Indiana Jones, better looking and has a cool edge that few games characters can get away with. Tomb Raider: Anniversary sees Lara return to her roots, the place it all started and she’s even cooler for it. Gone are the sexy oohs and ahhs, the triangular breasts and the ridiculous sexualised hype. Lara Croft is now a legend, in the gaming arena, movie arena, marketing arena and then some. Female gamers are damn lucky to have her and younger female gamers are even luckier to get the chance to relive her old days. It may essentially be a rehash, but who cares. Girl gamers unite in yelling from the rooftops that Lara Croft is and always will be their number one female games character.

Overall Tomb Raider Anniversary is an old game redone, and in this case at least, that’s no bad thing, and this coming from someone who pretty much despises it when they remake classic movies. You’re never going to get back that thrill veteran gamers of a certain age (yes myself among them), felt when they first played the original Tomb Raider title on the PS1 or Saturn, but this is a lovely attempt. It’s great to relive all of those moments, with a better control system, gorgeous graphics and enough changes to make this feel like a whole new game. Chances are the only gamers who are not likely to love this title are those already adverse to it and to those we say Meh!

What are you waiting for, go buy Tomb Raider: Anniversary now, it may well be the best in the series so far. Now if only the Xbox 360 version of Tomb Raider: Anniversary would hurry up and sate all those Tomb Raider loving Xbox 360 owners.

Review by Angela

EA boasts that The Sims 2 is the best-selling PC title of all time, and, as the publishing giant continues in its efforts to conquer next-gen consoles it’s seen fit to release The Sims 2: Pets. As the name suggests, in this new title your Sims can have pets. These come in the form of various cats and dogs and gerbils. These creatures have individual personalities and, much like your Sims, they have wants and needs that must be satisfied. A huge aspect of this title is that you have to teach, train, discipline, and praise your pets. If it sounds like a lot of work—that’s because it is. Of course, that’s not to say that it’s not good fun too, but it just takes a lot of time and patience to get that perfect cat or dog.

Gamers who already own The Sims 2 on PlayStation 2 will realize that The Sims 2: Pets is really the same game just with a new expansion. Those gamers who haven’t owned the previous title, well, this game is for you. There are plenty of new and creative aspects that will also keep serious fans happy. There are new elements in the form of a park, and new shops, where you can buy accessories and buy your pet’s bling. In the park, your dogs can run free and socialize with other pets, your Sims will also have the opportunity to make friends and possibly find love.

As you have complete control over the characters, you can choose to be male or female. You can choose to have a large family, small family, or even be a single parent. The possibilities with The Sims 2 are really endless. The Sims 2 isn’t prejudiced and you can have same sex relationships, you can even have aliens living in your neighborhood. You can even have alien babies! To be honest, it’s great to have a title that isn’t about killing and zombies. This game is a non-violent and entertaining title.

I don’t know if it’s because I normally play The Sims on the PC, but I found the control system on the PS2 to be a little clunky and more difficult to acclimatise to. I feel that the button layout isn’t as simple and it takes a while to use the buttons instinctively. I also feel that this is the only thing that lets the console game down. I would rather suggest to someone to buy The Sims 2 on the PC; although this is a negative, it is the only negative that I could foresee.

Seeing as The Sims titles are universal in terms of dialogue, your Sim(s) will never speak a word of English. They speak in ‘Sim’ gibberish, and it is always entertaining to listen to them hold conversations with other Sims. When listening in you can almost understand what they are saying. I’m sure that in years to come there will be universities that teach Sim…much the same as universities that specialise in Klingon (oh, dear—Ed). Sadly, because of this, there are no subtitles for hearing impaired gamers. However, it’s unnecessary to have subtitles though.

The graphics in The Sims 2: Pets are fun and colourful. They also have amazing options when creating your characters too. The attention to detail that’s gone into the clothing is astounding. Not only do you have an amazing range of fashion to choose from, you can also crop the length of skirts, shirts, and jumpers. To give you an idea of how detailed this title is you are given the choice of 12 different skin tones. Each of these is lovingly detailed with moles, freckles, and other real life characteristics.

When selecting your new furry friend(s) you can create them and change them through a wealth of design options, to the point where you can even change their size and shape. You can individualise your pooch, kitten, etc, by changing its fur and colours—there are fantastic colours to be unlocked during the game. The choice of dog breeds is amazing also; think of almost any dog breed you like and it’s more than likely that you’ll find it there. There are also fantastic new animations and you have the joy of teaching your pets tricks too. I strongly suggest teaching your cat or dog to play dead, it’s hilarious.

Inexperienced Sims fans will be amazed by this title, it is a fantastic game and it offers so much more than its predecessor. However, as I mentioned earlier, fans going from PC to the PS2 might find the control system a little difficult to get used to. Other than that though, The Sims 2: Pets is an amazing title and it does then pose the question: where will The Sims take us next?

Review by Amanda

It seems everywhere you look these days, there’s a game being made to coincide with the release of a big budget movie. They are released on as many platforms as possible to maximize sales, and usually follow the plot of the movie pretty closely.

The Simpsons Game for PS2, while admittedly being released a little later than the movie, does little to break the mould, unfortunately. What makes it interesting, though, is that it knows just how cliché it is, and makes fun of it. Each level has a number of “Video Game Cliché’s” to collect, each with a quote from our favourite Comic Book Guy. It also parodies many popular games, and games characters, in the typically irreverent humor you find in the show.

I was surprised though that the game didn’t follow the plot of the movie. It’s a bit like a clip show, the game play of each level being interspersed with animated cut scenes, some you may recognise (Homer in the Land of Chocolate) many others a variation on an old theme (Mr Burns’ new “eco friendly” company).

The ‘plot’ holding them all together is pretty flimsy. Bart finds the game manual and gains “video game super powers”. He then bribes or coerces the rest of his family into joining him on a rampage of violence. Enemies include anyone from Jimbo and Curley to Kang and Kodos. Along the way, though, the game manages to make sufficient fun of itself to forgive the blatant 4th wall breach, and have you chuckling as much as playing. The sound bites from characters can be particularly funny; “I’ll diet when I’m awake!” “With my courage and your ability to be fat and stand in place, we can do anything!”

The rest of the sound is of a quality you’d expect from a Simpsons title. The voice acting is excellent, and everyone is voiced by their voice actor from the show – there isn’t an unrecognizable voice to be found. The music is of above average quality, changing each level to suit the surrounds the characters find themselves in.

The unfortunate thing is, though, that the game play is poor. Mildly annoying jumping puzzles become increasingly frustrating as the camera gets stuck on the environment, or swings the wrong way at the wrong time. The controls are clumsy and combat sinks into little more than button mashing. Attempting to strategise is wasted effort, as more often than not you’ll be hit while charging your ‘super power’, causing you to stop and try and charge up once again. It’s a short game as well; a good day’s worth of gaming and you’ll be easily finished. Though the collectibles and time trials on each level will keep you playing for a while longer.

Aside from all the jumping, the rest of the puzzles are refreshing. More often than not you’re teamed up with another Simpson, and pressing any of the game pad’s directional buttons will swap you between them. Each has a special power that is activated by pressing the R1 button, and usually key to solving different points of the puzzles.

The graphics during game play are also less than spectacular. I imagine they might have been crisp and sharp on a more advanced platform, yet on the PS2 they are a little chunky and jagged. It might have been a lot better if they had designed the graphics with the PS2 in mind, but since the game spans so many platforms the point is moot.

Another unfortunate thing is that the girls get less game play than Homer and Bart. Marge especially, she only gets to play in 6 of the levels. What makes it doubly disappointing is that Lisa is quite fun to play. Her saxophone stuns enemies, and her punching and kicking is surprisingly powerful. It’s easy to forget about the poor game play when you’re playing her. I found myself resenting the levels that she wasn’t in, and rushed to complete them so I could see if she was in the next one.

In short, and far from being a grrl gamers dream, The Simpsons Game as a PG title, is probably best enjoyed watching while the kids play.

Review by Teh Spikey

In the world of videogames it’s the Pac-Man franchise’s 25-year anniversary, and in Namco’s Pac-Man World 3 it’s also the little yellow hero’s birthday. Guess how old he is. Yes, he’s 25. At the beginning of the game, we find Pac-Man about to celebrate his birthday and tuck into a scrumptious-looking cake with Ms. Pac-Man, only to be mysteriously whisked out of Pac-village and into a strange new land. Pac-Man quickly discovers that Erwin, an evil genius (aren’t they always?—Ed) has created a machine that’s able to penetrate into the ghost world, which is better know as The Spectral Realm, and suck out its raw energy. Erwin has also abducted certain ghostly ‘friends’ of Pac-Man and now it’s his job to prevent The Spectral Realm from collapsing into the real world, defeat Erwin, save Inky & Binky, and form uneasy alliances with old foes.

From Pac-Man World 3’s opening rendered sequence that explains Pac-Man’s abrupt removal from his birthday celebrations, it’s clear that the game is not fashioned for ‘hardcore’ players. Its cute graphics, gentle story flow, and bouncy animation clearly define a demographic target that resides beneath the teenage boundary. More than anything else though, Pac-Man World 3 is never anything less than faithful to the iconic history laid down by quarter of a century of gaming influence. That means there’s plenty of opportunity for power pellet munching, ghost chomping, fruit collecting, and maze running via a fully 3D platform-based game world—there are even moments of retro fun to be had within each game level through 2D Pac-Man mini-games. Pac-Man World 3 also sees the unlikely inclusion of a ghostly squad-based element that has Pac-Man joining forces with Pinky and Clyde in order to save The Spectral Realm. At intermittent points during the game, Pac-Man is able to call upon either of the two willing ghosts and their specific abilities to help traverse certain areas or overcome tricky level challenges.

Graphically—beyond the cutesy rendered opening—Pac-Man World 3 performs satisfactorily amid a crowded 3D platform genre. The game characters are all instantly recognisable, and everyone from Pac-Man and Ms. Pac-Man down to the pesky spectral team members of Pinky and Clyde meets with expectations and remain as appealingly simple as when they were limited to 2D. Individual level designs are bright and colourful (specifically when in the ‘real’ world), but after a while they do tend to feel somewhat simplistic in structure. This is particularly true of those levels based in The Spectral Realm, which, while obviously removed from the real world and initially eerie, quickly become disappointingly repetitive. The visuals generally lack a sense of development polish, but this criticism can be levelled at most PlayStation 2 titles.

Game music is always subtle and well applied, befitting of environmental changes and also situational moments. However, there are one or two odd instances where level music inexplicably disappears once ghosts and other nasty creatures have been cleared and Pac-Man is merely busy searching for collectable goodies. This glitch tends to suppress Pac-Man World 3’s atmosphere and enforce a sense of ‘playing a game’ instead of promoting a sense of ‘gameplay’. Game sound also occasionally disappears during in-game cut scenes, which also damages immersion; thankfully though—and importantly for deaf gamers—full subtitles run throughout the game and convey the story with or without functioning sound. Sound effects are always faithful to the Pac-Man universe and carefully applied to invoke that welcome wandering of nostalgia, be that through the munch of power pellets, the ethereal chasing of ghosts, or the flashback authenticity of the 2D mini-games.

Gameplay is flowing and easy to grasp, though it rarely conjures up any genuine challenge. Puzzles generally involve nothing more complex than locating a key to reach a fresh area, and encountered ghosts, creatures, robots, etc, are all dealt with through handy power pellets that are always located near to the action. The power pellets themselves offer temporary power-ups to Pac-Man, which include an improved Butt Bounce (becoming a Super Stomp), Electro-Shock abilities, and also a Ribbon Loop action that allows Pac-Man to encircle enemies in an explosive ribbon of energy. Of course, as a platform game, there are plenty of environmental elements to bounce on, climb up, spin down, ricochet off, etc, and every animated action available to Pac-Man (or Pinky and Clyde) is simple to execute However, the easygoing and appealing nature of the gameplay is sullied somewhat by an unfriendly camera which, though it dutifully follows the action, occasionally gets locked behind foreground walls and obstacles while the player attempts to swing it into a better position. The camera is also intrusive when trying to garner a more useful view concerning high/low ledges, plateaus, etc, as it simply refuses to angle up or down and provide a decent free-view of the environment. This is particularly annoying when hunting through levels for collectable fruit or content-freeing Pac-Man statuettes.

Girl gamers won’t be at all surprised to note that Ms. Pac-Man only plays a minor peripheral role in proceedings, and Pac-Man himself is the centre of gameplay attention for most of the time. Pinky and Clyde do pop up sporadically, and Pinky is a spunky female ghost who can use her powers to reveal invisible platforms for Pac-Man and aid his progress. That said, she feels a little weak beside Pac-Man’s wealth of abilities, and her counterpart Clyde is also kitted out with a Sonic Boo and a Sonic Cannon.

Pac-Man World 3 isn’t a standout title, but it’s not a stinker either. It finds itself in that unusual grey area of quality where its moments of brightness are always dulled by its glitches and moments of detraction. A more considered challenge and improved innovation through inventive level design would have catapulted Pac-Man World 3 much further forward than where it actually is at present, and only players below their teens are likely to take anything more than pleasantly brief nostalgia from the game. It’s cute but shallow, effective but limiting, and involving but easy. A little more depth, a little more ambition, and a little more challenge, and Pac-Man World 3 could have been a really solid addition to the Pac-Man franchise. As it is, it’s a jaunty little 3D wander down memory lane that’s tarnished by discomforting instances of underachievement in almost every department.

Review by Stevie

Need for Speed: Most Wanted opens with your faceless, nameless central character—and a frighteningly powerful BMW—making an immediate impact on the illegal street-racing scene. However, when battling against Razor, the existing racing champion who’s a twisted and evil character of disrepute, your ride suddenly suffers an ill-timed bout of sabotage. The result? Your superior BMW is subsequently lost to Razor, much to the glee of his driving clan, and you’re left only with the sympathy of the beautiful Mia, a female racer who’s also somewhat new to the scene. Mia knows a few people who know a few people, and pretty soon you’ve secured a fresh ride—though certainly nothing to challenge Razor with. Mia suspects Razor and his crew of foul play and pledges to help you in climbing the street-racing ‘Black List’ and also in getting your precious BMW back. Can you successfully scale the racing ranks? Can you hone a car strong enough to topple your very own BMW? Will police attentions bust you before making the grade? And does the mysteriously helpful Mia have shadowed ulterior motives?

More than anything, Most Wanted is immediate fun. The sense of tarmac-tearing speed is extremely well implemented, as are the varied car models, city environments, rival and police A.I., and slowly unfolding plotline. Car control is instantly accessible, yet always varied enough in execution and subtlety to require increments of acclimatisation from the player. And customization for each successive vehicle gathered in your garage always offers something noticeable in terms of performance enhancement, be that gear ratios, spoiler down-force, brake bias, or nitrous turbo. Of course, the game’s sense of individuality is also expansive through complete paintwork alteration, decals, body kits, rims, and tune-ups. Your rubber-marked road to the top of the Black List is never in danger of suffering a blow out to boredom, and the action grows progressively more frantic as your police profile swells alongside your racing reputation.

Exacting revenge on Razor isn’t an easy task, and not just anyone can challenge for the coveted top spot. Swallowing pride and racing from the ground up is your only option. Starting with a cheaply acquired standard factory car model, you must seek out and defeat the 14 other members of the Black List before toppling Razor himself. However, each Black List racer will refuse to face you until your reputation has gathered sufficient momentum. This means competing in various arbitrary events throughout the city to expand race winnings and reputation, as well as initiating and enduring lengthy police pursuits to boost your bounty level. The races include standard ‘first past the post’ sprints and circuits, ‘speed camera’ sprints where accumulated captured speeds ultimately win, and ‘drag’ races where perfect gear shifting and minimal car damage are both vital.

Once you’ve gathered enough reputation, cash, and bounty to face a Black List racer, you compete across two race events and, once you’ve conquered them both, you move up on the List and are also able to choose two ‘markers’ from the defeated racer. These markers represent tune-up and performance bonuses, as well as get-out-of-jail cards, cash, and the pink slip ownership papers of the car you’ve just beaten. However, the marker identities are hidden so what you get is largely down to chance. Ironically, attaining the car of your opponent usually reveals a vastly superior ride to the one used to beat them—which doesn’t really make much sense. That said, Black List cars are the quickest way to Razor, so continuity complaints can certainly be held back in favor of progression. Of course, you can opt to purchase a better car from the city showrooms and nurture it lovingly into a racing monster. Hard-fought cash and customization, or Black List bounty, either way Razor’s days are numbered.

Presentation is slick throughout, both graphically and aurally, and the street racing slams along at a thrillingly constant frame rate. All the included car models are accurately re-created, and everything from the bog standard Volkswagen Golf to the Lamborghini Murciélago exude a loving authenticity while begging to be customised. The overtly rock, rap, and dance soundtrack is oddly befitting the general feel of the game and actually serves to increase heart rate rather than stunt it. Speaking of stunts, correctly timed impacts against peripheral environment details such as highway poll stations and police road blocks will invoke satisfyingly slow motion cut scenes as your ride ploughs on relentlessly. You’ll also want to look out for ‘speed breakers’ while being pursued by the police. These exist as interaction icons by gas stations, roadside restaurants, water towers, etc., that cause destruction when driven through and temporarily divert police attention while you seek a place to hide out and cool off.

Girl gamers can enjoy Need for Speed: Most Wanted just as much as the boys, especially as the main protagonist remains largely ambiguous sexually, apart from when busted and he’s then bodily revealed via cut sequences. However, though the obvious sexual allure of Mia is used throughout the game, the vast majority of its characters are muscle bound bad-boys. So, a little something for everyone really. Unfortunately deaf gamers are not granted subtitles during the brief live-action sequences, but they can still follow events via text-based phone messages, and Black List racer and car model explanations that always hold true to the game’s core narrative. Beyond the central story/career mode, Most Wanted also offers an event-based Challenge Series mode and a Quick Race feature for those players with time issues but the taste for swift speed. All in all, it’s a quality package.

With its car-bound, GTA-inspired storyline and enjoyably frenetic gameplay, Need for Speed: Most Wanted flows with a smooth simplicity. The opportunity to gather an evolving garage of super cars, while hurtling your way to the top of the infamous street-racing ‘Black List’ is always appealing. Combine this with the fabulously involving police pursuits, many race variations, car customization, convincing live-action plot moments, and an admirably impressive visual flare, and you get a thoroughly decent game from start to finish. When you absolutely have to appease the growing need for speed, EA’s latest series offering should be your most wanted fix.

Review by Stevie

For those well versed in the Need for Speed universe, its breakneck street racing, police chases, shoehorned narrative, and wafer thin annual premise—all of which justify the series’ ongoing (lack of) evolution—won’t find very much that inspires within the gameplay folds of Need for Speed: Carbon. And those who’ve never spent hard-earned money on a Need for Speed game before would perhaps be advised to rewind twelve months and pick up Need for Speed: Most Wanted instead. Okay, that’s the summation, now let’s Tarantino everything and go back to the beginning.

In the beginning, there was Electronic Arts and its street-racing game Need for Speed, a potent mix of white-knuckle car-based clashes across sprawling city environments. Then there was Need for Speed: Underground, and Need for Speed: Underground 2 expansions of potent white-knuckle car-based clashes across sprawling city street environments. Then came Need for Speed: Most Wanted, you get the drift here, yes?

The only thing that has changed from Need for Speed through to Need for Speed: Carbon is the amount of cash that EA has reaped from the pockets of oh-so willing gamers, and the level of pure consumer apathy exercised by those gamers in accepting the same experience over and over and over again. Though, that said, repetition is EA’s particular speciality of profit growth…one need only look at the endless success afforded to the FIFAs, Medal of Honors, NBAs, and NHLs of the world.

But let’s allow for degree of explanation, shall we? Need for Speed: Most Wanted partially redefined the series by enabling the player to roam impressive environments while pursuing a cell-tinted live action narrative finale, a successfully nurtured race reputation, an ever widening garage of performance motors, and an infamous rap-sheet with the local police force. However, while Most Wanted portrayed a modicum of effort in directing the series down an ever-so slender path of progression, Carbon pretty much rests on established laurels while hiding behind the typically slick EA presentation and aesthetically polished delivery.

In Need for Speed: Carbon, the player’s nameless, faceless, voiceless, point-of-view character makes a return from Most Wanted and participates through sporadic tacky live action segues through sight alone, as stranded and uncomfortable ‘actors’ talk directly to the camera/character with all the belief and subtlety of an ensemble cast from Prisoner Cell Block H. The player’s character has come back to Palmont City after fleeing from Most Wanted’s Rockport—for reasons far too clichéd to go into—and, as per usual, must start from the bottom rung of racing reputation in order to regain the respect ‘he’ once had. Although the character is meant to be faceless and genderless, the fact that females (including an overly soft focus Emmanuelle Vaugier) approach with battering eyelids, whereas males generally approach with arrogance and animosity, hints that the person behind the wheel is considerably more male—which won’t come as any surprise to beleaguered and largely ignored girl gamers.

In short, gameplay set-up sees Palmont City based around four separate gang-controlled regions as well as the winding and perilous Carbon canyons. The player must conquer each of the city’s regions through completion of related races and challenges based within each—at which point the region transfers to the player’s control—and then ultimately race for absolute gang superiority in the canyons. Riveting stuff, eh? Sadly, any longevity and challenge is all-but erased thanks to two annoyingly easy features. The first of these is that, regardless of how many races are based in a gang’s territory, only two challenges need to be completed for the area to fall into the player’s control—and they can be freely chosen too. Though, to be fair, player-controlled areas can be wrestled back through gang challenges, which does add a little freshness—but little difficulty. The second is the newly implemented ‘Wingman’ feature, and a new paragraph is required for this…

That’s right, dear easily pleased reader, Carbon sees the woefully ill-fitting introduction of team-based racing. The Wingman assists in races and the player can issue specific orders to have the wingman help in certain situations and race conditions. The wingmen are available in three interchangeable ‘disciplines’, which are Scout, Blocker, and Drifter, and each brings a different angle of possible advantage to the race(s). However, while the wingman mechanic could have worked extremely well in providing a shared sense of achievement through difficult encounters, it’s often the use of wingmen that renders races ridiculously easy. Plus, if the A.I. wingman should win a race then, as the player’s team mate, the race is won without any degree of struggle or racing evolution on the player’s part. And, as the game progresses and the player purchases better cars and grows more attuned with the racing itself, then it’s often the case that the wingman simply gets in the way during races and becomes more of a (vocal and physical) hindrance than an able assistant.

Needless to say, Carbon is crammed to the rafters with the usual array of bizarrely in-depth customization tools, and racing purists, geeks—and those who like nothing more than building Tower Bridge out of matchsticks without stopping for sleep, food, or toilet trips—will have an absolute blast sculpting and engineering their vehicular (wet) dream. Personally speaking, it’s a complete waste of time, especially as owned cars change so frequently as to render customization almost pointless beyond the appeasement of shallow self-gratification.

In terms of graphics prowess, Need for Speed: Carbon, while as outwardly polished as you’d expect from EA, does struggle to whip up a believable storm on the ailing PlayStation 2. And an occasionally extreme stuttering frame rate certainly indicates that perhaps Sony’s workhorse is running lame and needs a mercy bullet between the eyes as the thoroughbred stallion PlayStation 3 trots arrogantly from the consumer electronics stable. Musically, the soundtrack is pumping and well suited to the racing—though it’s often ruined by the incessant wingman chatter—and the in-game effects are decent enough without expanding on anything you’ve already experienced. Deaf or hard-of-hearing gamers can follow the (wince-inducing) narrative segues through full subtitles, and the in-game pointers arrive through text messages.

Ultimately, Need for Speed: Carbon follows the blueprint laid down by Most Wanted, while introducing largely worthless and unnecessary additional gimmicks. However, if the wingman and territory additions were not there, wouldn’t Carbon be merely a repeat performance and another innovation-free EA product? Yes, it would, but the ‘new’ elements in Carbon do not complement the gameplay, they detract from it. The narrative is tired and clichéd, not far reaching and interesting, and the usually thrilling races and police chases—the core of Need for Speed—have devolved into forgettable fillers between bad acting, banal garage expansion, and ridiculously complicated decal immersion. The race, the thrill, and the heart-pounding speed—all vitally important elements—are sadly not given any consideration around the favor of peripheral distractions and tacky gloss.

Review by Stevie

When I saw the cover of this game I immediately thought ‘wow, this game is just my thing’. My thing being, turnbased RPG style games with beautiful graphics and a hint of Manga. This game certainly ticks all the right boxes, for me at least.

Let’s start with the story…
La Pucelle Tactics is essentially a tactical RPG mixed with puzzler that embroils the player in a tale of monsters and demons. You play 3 characters which are all novice demon hunters who have just joined La Pucelle, the church’s demon hunting squad. The main characters consist of:
Prier – she’s the firey, aggressive and outspoken girl of the group. all she wants is to be a Maiden of Light.
Culotte – he’s the younger brother of Prier, throughout the game he is trying to prove himself worthy.
Aluette – she’s the do-gooder of the group. she has no memory of her past and is trying to find herself using the Church of the Holy Maiden as her guide.
As the game progresses you meet new main characters that add to the story.

The similarities between La Pucalle Tactics and Final Fantasy Tactics on the GBA cannot be ignored. it is almost the same game, just better graphics (obviously) and its story is far more compelling. It is a mission based game and you gain experience from killing or catching demons.

Just killing your enemies isn’t the only option that you have in this game, you can also ‘Purify’ them, this means that the demon will convert and become good. this is an awesome skill to have as the demons are then on your team and you can use them to defeat other demons. However the stronger the demon the harder it is for you to make them convert (it is also harder when you have more than one of that species in your team – they are more reluctant). You can also combine character’s to have powerful attacks and this is very useful when defeating bad guys.

It is possible to complete stages without completing all the levels, although this means you can complete levels quickly it does have its drawbacks as the game is experience based (fewer levels completed means fewer EXP my friends). So my advice to anyone playing this game is to go back to completed stages and double check everything is in order, not only does this help the story progress but it also helps your characters become harder and less easy to kill.

This is a left to right scrolling game and is very 2-D for the most part. At first I was disappointed by the graphics of the game, however as the game has progressed I have become rather fond of the 2-D, almost comic style graphics (very old school for those of you who have been gamers a long time). The characters themselves are very small and rounded when on screen so this does make it difficult to read the expressions, although when the characters talk to one another there is an illustration of their face, this illustration changes depending on what they say, this too is in a very stylized anime fashion. The game is subtitled and also has most of the characters speaking. it was a relief when I noted that the voices weren’t annoying or overly theatrical, all in all the voice acting is actually pretty good.

The game itself is fairly simple, most of the time the only button you have to hit is X, occasionally changing this for Triangle. You can’t skip scenes which can become increasingly frustrating when you die and have to start again. This is what happened to me and I could quote what was being said before long. During battles the camera angles can become very awkward, this is also true of the greenery which has been placed in the forests in which you fight.

When my characters aren’t engrossed in setting the lost spirits free during battles, I control Prier, however other characters are there… I guess they’re just invisible.

The story is rather complicated and difficult to explain, although when playing it is is relitivle easy to follow, thankfully. You play these 3 demon hunters, which are all doing their part for the church of the Holy Maiden. Side stories include learning about the past of the brother and sister pair Colette and Prier and Alluette remembering her past (not sure if this is entirely true as yet – haven’t played that far). New characters joining your group add more side stories and soon the game has become a web of interlocking characters.

Girl Gamers will like this title, but it’s not just for the girls, it is cool that two of the main characters are female though!! All in all if you like this sort of thing you’re going to really like this whether you are male or female, human or demon.

Overall I’d rate this game 4 out of 5. It is so addictive and to quote Jono “it can even overide hunger”. The story is compelling even though very complicated and the gameplay is quick and easy to pick up. There is nothing too taxing about this game, it seems to me that it is just clean fun. The dialogue that Prier uses is at times very entertaining and her temper is equally good to watch, although the graphics are a little disappointing for a PS2 game, you become fond of the 2-Dimensional side scrolling gameplay which has a lot of old school charm. All in all a really cool game.

Review by Amanda and Jono

Electronic Arts would have you believe that “This Is The Season” its long-running football series takes markedly large chunks out of a certain ‘other’ footballing franchise. But does it?

Well, first of all, let’s cut past that which we already know, namely that anyone already familiar with the content quality usually associated with EA Sports videogames (of any sporting genre) doesn’t need to hear how top-draw FIFA 07 is in that sense. And for those new to FIFA and FIFA 07, its content and options are vast, layered, detailed, and unfailingly authentic. EA is the king of sporting presentation, modes, and longevity, it always has been, and it likely always will be. Fact. Also, established series fans won’t require an in-depth breakdown of FIFA’s tournaments, international leagues, Fan Shop, unlockable features, EA Trax play list, and other EA Sports Extras. By contrast, newbs won’t have to look hard to appreciate or dismiss them. EA is the king of modes, related goodies, awards, and unlockables, and there are few that can compete. Again: Fact.

However, according to EA’s confident tagline of “This Is The Season” 2006/2007 is supposedly the season that FIFA 07 moves beyond its hugely valuable licensing, slick presentation, and premium graphics, and ‘finally’ becomes the football package we’ve waited (im)patiently for year after year after year. And guess what, dear PES fanboy sceptics? That’s right, this is indeed “The Season” that FIFA surges forward purposefully and hacks its plodding and overly assured rival(s) off the ball before striking a sweet twenty-five yard screamer past a diving but despairing keeper.

And the improvements that merit that claim, believe it or not, are not in graphics or content, but in gameplay—the singular most widely criticised aspect of all other FIFA offerings. So, concentrating only on FIFA 07’s improved gameplay, what’s instantly apparent against previous editions is the massive sense of freedom that’s granted by the on-field action. While earlier FIFAs all-too soon devolved into a repetitious dependence on scoring vital goals at vital times in exactly the same way through set patterns and movements—thereby negating any genuine sense of achievement and challenge—FIFA 07 is much more spontaneous, its victories more rewarding, and its gameplay much more unpredictable.

The game’s much-improved shot and ball mechanics mean that quick reflex snap shots are easier to randomly execute during goalmouth confusion, on the end of a well executed long pass, or as a poor clearance arcs to a prowling attacker. Plus, the much-maligned Skill Stick (right analogue) also feels more accessibly rewarding and responsive yet still temperamental enough to create a sense of realism when controlling those especially gifted players during one-on-ones. Then there are the player’s surrounding A.I. team mates, who all seem much more actively involved in seeking out space, embarking on intelligent runs off the ball, and moving as decoys to pull defensive lines apart. Yet, it’s not a one-way improvement, with opposition A.I. also evolved enough to require studied and measured timing from the player to break its resistance or, conversely, bottleneck its attacking skills. To put those factors into a more pertinent perspective, it’s perhaps fair to say that FIFA has never felt so much like PES before.

More importantly, FIFA delivers a singular gameplay improvement of huge importance to the overall package, and that is in its player-to-player passing and movement. To a certain degree every existing football game has suffered (or continues to suffer) in this area, and its affects can render gameplay an exercise in frustration if it’s too prominent. For example, during passing transitions, the player is ‘supposed’ to gain instant control of the receiving team mate, yet football games (all of them) generally suffer with annoying delays or, worse yet, team mates who stand stock still while opposition players sweep in and nick the ball. FIFA 07 overcomes that problem by actually allowing players to use the right analogue stick to drift receiving players towards the incoming ball. This naturally makes passing and moving significantly more intuitive and grants the player a better sense of overall control. Also, the likes of heading high balls, chest control, and jostling for better position are often glitch-worthy gameplay details in football games, but again the right analogue stick allows players to jockey with defenders, step before them during high balls, and even steal ahead to meet an incoming cross. The same is true when defending crosses or contesting a clearance, goal kicks, or free kicks, where a player in the wall can even be sent running toward the kicker in an attempt to block an incoming shot.

With gameplay firmly improved, EA Sports then further enforces its established online and multiplayer superiority by introducing various new elements to FIFA 07. Beyond the standard player vs. player FIFA Lounge, the ambitious Interactive Leagues multiplayer aspect allows players to actually represent their favourite team online during the (real) football season, playing the same matches as the corresponding real-life fixtures. A player’s results are then combined with the results of all the other participating fans to decide which team rises to the top of the Interactive League. Essentially, whenever a player’s favourite club is in action, they themselves play against rival fans of the opposing team prior to the real match. Those supported leagues for Interactive Leagues are the F.A. Premiership, French Lique 1 Orange, German Bundesliga 1, and—somewhat oddly—the Mexican 1st Division.

So “This Is The Season” when FIFA 07 really does kick the opposition off the park (and that includes Pro Evolution 6—yes, I’ve played and reviewed both) thanks to it being quite possibly the only total footballing package available on the market. New and improved ball physics, vastly enhanced A.I. and more than 1500 fresh player animations complement the already responsive and intuitive First Touch feature and the franchise’s ongoing unparalleled authenticity. Moreover, the game’s gritty reduced gloss approach, first-rate graphics, unmatched commentary, incredibly atmospheric crowd effects (90th-minute whistles during cup matches are literally deafening, and multiple pass “Oles” are fabulous), mode choices, in-depth career, and unfailingly detailed licensing means that for the very first time FIFA has moved to the top of gaming’s hotly contested football league.

Review by Stevie