Review – Page 226 – StuffWeLike

Wii Sports (+)

A compilation of various sports games, which help introduce players to the Wii Remote.

If you can imagine a game that is a mix of tech demos that play well and are fun, you’re imagining Wii Sports. Wii Sports allows players to become adjusted to the brand new Wii control scheme. While sports games are usually difficult to play, Wii Sports is a simplified version of multiple sports games such as baseball, tennis, and boxing.

It’s due to their simplified gameplay that makes them for the perfect party game. Players can either by aggressive or can play casually. For the first time in video game history gamers can play the same game exactly how they want to play it. Stand up or sit down this game is something that you’ll get into even if you’re not a huge sports fan.

There are no major leagues in here. All of the characters in game are the same that can be found in your Mii creations. Each player can make their own team members and play as them in game. Imagine creating characters that look like you and your friend and then play a boxing match together. For the first time you can fight your friend without actually hurting them.

The Wii Remote sound effects help bring the player into the game world. Hearing the sound of a ball hitting a bat or a tennis racket is very satisfying. The game doesn’t use any music in game, which practically works in favor of the game. If you are playing with friends being able to taunt them without having to scream over an additional noise layer, the in-game music, is very nice.

All of the games except for boxing allow players to use only the Wii Remote. For new comers to the system this definitely helps them ease into the new control scheme. Within no time, players will be having a blast as they make a knockout or a homerun.

In total Wii Sports has 5 different sports: tennis, baseball, golf, boxing, and bowling. It’s a wide variety for a free game that is included with the Wii system. This game is practically the reason to buy a Wii console. It delivers on everything that Nintendo has told gamers to expect from the Wii console. This is the first game in a long time that has actually made me sweat and yet I still want more!

Sam & Max Episode 1: Culture Shock (+)

“When are we gonna get another case, Sam? Surely the local lawbreakers must miss our esoteric brand of personalized criminal justice!”

It has been a while, but Sam & Max, the self-titled freelance police, are finally on the job again. After a 1993 Sam & Max Hit the Road, the franchise has scraped past a Fox Kids cartoon show in 1997, and the canceled Sam & Max Plunge Through Space of 2002, and then again in 2004 when Sam & Max: Freelance Police was canceled by Lucas Arts, Sam & Max: Culture Shock has finally arrived.

Sam & Max: Culture Shock is the first installment of a 6-episode series by developer Telltale Games. The episode-format is supposed to offer short games released much more often, and gamers can purchase the individual episode or the season. After all the struggle to produce a Sam & Max game, and the culmination of Telltale Games’ episode format, how is the game itself?

It’s ridiculous. Appropriately ridiculous. And pretty darn good. This point-and-click detective adventure game has a beautiful shading and visual system designed to make it appropriately feel like you’re playing a cartoon, has a great jazz musical style that puts you in the mood to solve ridiculous mysteries, and is filled to it’s short episodic brim with the traditional esoteric dialogue so indispensably vital to the Sam & Max experience.

The characters really drive the story and gameplay, as each action triggers a short dialogue, which never fails to disappoint. Sam, the anthropomorphic dog dressed in a detective suit usually delivers long-winded mock-noir fiction sentences, such as “Jiminy Christmas Eve in a padlocked sweatbox”some misguidedly ballsy felons’ napped our phone!” Max, a “hyperkinetic rabbity thing,” is his crazed violent sidekick, who usually responds with short, often violent, retort.

Visually, the game is stunning. Most screenshots do real justice to the concept, but to see it in motion is beautiful. The voices are perfect, and my favorite part is the audio syncing, as nothing gets older faster than a game heavy in dialogue with terrible character face animations. By incorporating the audio so well into the visual world, especially with the music, the world is easy to get into.

The puzzles are pretty simple, but there were a few that I had to really think about. Most importantly though, the game plays like a TV show, because there aren’t any puzzles that are going to stump you so much that you can’t play through the whole episode in one sitting.

On the negative side, it was pretty quick, but that’s appropriate for the cost ($8.95 per episode, or the complete season for $34.95). After having played it there is no real replay value, but that’s true to the adventure genre. One of the great things about it though, is that there are 5 episodes coming out, in the first week each month starting January and ending in May.

Overall, I’d have to give this one a definite plus. Check out some of the gameplay footage, which will give you a good idea of how charming this little diversion can be.

Timesplitters 2

There hasn’t really been a good FPS on a Nintendo system since Perfect Dark. But finally, there is hope for Gamecube-owning FPS fans. Even though Timesplitters 2 is also for the Playstation 2 and there are a few shortcomings in the technical area, this is still the best FPS to hit the Gamecube, and this game is fun to play for a really long time.

The story mode of Timesplitters 2 is fairly plain, with 10 missions that you can play on three difficulties. The story mode is definetly good for one or two runs, but the good quality stuff lies in the Arcade Mode. The Arcade Mode is a ton of fun to play by yourself, but it is way better if you’ve got a few friends over. There are dozens of characters, a number of excellent levels, lots of gameplay modes, and the best part of all: customization. You can set how many bots there are, how difficult they are, what weapons you use, how frequent the different weapons show up, and you can even select which music you want.

Besides the excellent customization, there are a ton of different gameplay modes to choose from, and each requires a different skill. Besides the regular deathmatch and capture the flag, there is some really fun ones, like ‘Flame Tag’ and ‘Monkey Assistant.’ In Flame Tag, one person is on fire, and you must pass on your flame to someone else by touching them. Whoever is on fire for the least amount of time is the winner. In Monkey Assistant, whoever is in last place, gets a swarm of monkeys to help them attack other players.

The control scheme of this game will not take much time to get used to. The only thing that may be 2a little different than other FPS games, is that the control pad is used to switch weapons. Another nifty little feature is that you can view detailed information for each profile. You can see things, such as how many levels that person is beaten, how far they’ve walked, and how many shots they’ve fired (over the entire time you’ve played). Its kinda neat to look back and see that you’ve shot 1200 people in the head.

The graphics are a little disappointing, and this is especially obvious during movie sequences. Character models are so poorly done it is disturbing at times. Luckily, most of the time the bad graphics don’t matter, as the game is in first person. And even though some of the character models aren’t that great, some of them are kinda cool, because you can play as characters such as the gingerbread man.

The sound of this game is much more impressive than the graphics. The soundtrack in this game is phenomenal and really does add to the awesomeness of this game. The voiceovers are not quite as good, but I really found myself not caring, as the music is much more important.

Overall, this is the best FPS for Gamecube and is a really, really fun multiplayer. Its too bad the Gamecube doesn’t have online capabilties for this game, because sometimes I really wish I could have more than four people. Oh well, there’s always Timesplitters 3.

Resident Evil

When Resident Evil was first released in 1996, it started not only one of the most popular franchises in the history of gaming, but it set the stage for all the survival horror games we know and love today. The original Resident Evil is on many people’s list of best of games of all time, and the remake for the Gamecube does homage to the original Resident Evil and is a fabulous buy for Gamecube owners, regardless of whether you have played the original.

The opening sequence of this game will absolutely blow you away. The graphics are one of the best of any Gamecube game, and probably even beat the much-appraised Metroid Prime. The stunning realism, the lighting, the character models, and the voice-overs are all not only good, they’re perfect. The look and feel of this game are part of what make this such a scary game, and even if this weren’t meant to be a scary game, the incredible realism would have you wetting your pants.

You have the choice between two characters at the beginning of the game, Chris and Jill. This choice will not only affect the storyline of the game, but will also affect the difficulty of the game, the enemies you meet, and the weapons you get. Regardless of who you pick, you are dropped off in a huge, dark mansion alone. And every once in a while there is something not too friendly around the corner. The zombies in this game are simply amazing. They cannot be any cooler. The zombies will amaze when you first see them, but after a few bites on the neck, you realize they are not to be dealt with like a five year old. You must use your arsenal of weapons to destroy them as best as you can.

Even though the combat of this game is a lot of fun, most of the game will be spent exploring the mansion and solving puzzles. And, this easier said then done. There are several different areas to this mansion, including three floors, a courtyard, and a guesthouse. You must collect all the items and find out in what room to use them, and how they are used. The other aspect that makes this game challenging (and realist) is you can only carry a limited number of items, you have limited ammo, and you can save a limited number of times. This challenge not only makes the game funner, but it adds to the replay value.

My only complaint gameplay wise is the controls. Its not that the controls are really bad, they’re just hard to get used to, because they are very different than the average game out there. Pushing front and back on the control stick moves the character in the proper direction, but pushing left and right on the control stick rotates the character to the left or right, sometime making movement slow. The C Stick can be used to do a quick 180 degree turn, but sometimes it still takes a while to go where you want to.

The graphics, like I already said, are spectacular. You simply have to see it once to know that this game not only has one of the best graphics of any Gamecube game, this game has one of the best graphics this gen. The sound, while impressive, is not perfect. The voice-overs are great, but there if often a lack of music, that can make exploring the mansion a little dull. Usually when you encounter a zombie (or are about to), some scary, fast paced music will switch on. But if you’re just walking around, there is often no music on.

This game is long enough to play through with just one character, but when you add there are two characters, each with multiple storylines and difficulties, the replay value of this game goes up quite a bit. Especially, if you have not played the original Resident Evil, you may have the desire to play through this game more than once. Even if you have, there are a number of differences between the remake and the original, so you may still find a few new surprises around the corner…

Overall, this game rocks. So, if you have a Gamecube, then buy it. And if you don’t have a Gamecube, get one. This is just a great remake and a great game, with some really strong aspects that make deserving of the title “must have Gamecube game.”