FRED Entertainment

Wow. There have been SO many games released in the past few weeks that I, honestly, have been a little bit overwhelmed. So much to play, such little time to play them. Still, work is work, and I bring you the reviews in hopes you can make some educated choices for titles in this overpopulated gaming season. In addition to our regular reviews this week, we’re going to have a few comparison reviews as well; reviews of two similar games to showcase which is the better buy. This is a lot of gaming goodness for one week, folks. Settle in”¦

HEED THE CALL

Who’s tired of WWII shooters yet? Obviously not Activision. They have good reason not to be, however, as their CALL OF DUTY series is the most popular and best selling series in the genre. So, it’s no surprise that once again they visit familiar ground with CALL OF DUTY 3, out now for PS2, PS3, Xbox, Xbox 360 (reviewed) and the Nintendo Wii. What is surprising is that PC developer Infinity Ward has stepped aside and allowed Treyarch to take the reins. What we’re left with is a mix of the best elements of the series past, with a few new tricks added to the mix, but an overall feeling of sameness.

Focusing primarily on the Normandy Breakout leading up to Paris’ liberation, players join the ranks as soldiers from America, Britain, Canada and Poland in 14 structured story missions. In much the same way as game past, the battles are intense and frenetic, and each storyline moves the game along well with expert voice acting and detailed cut scenes. Control is generally no different than past titles, but new to the title is the game’s direct action melee sequences. During surprise attacks, some German soldiers will get right up into your face and you’ll have to grapple with them over your rifle by alternating button presses on the trigger buttons, and finally defeat them with a on-screen prompt for a finishing move. The PS3 and Wii versions of the game incorporate those systems’ motion sensitive controllers for these sequences. It’s an added sense of tension for the series, but honestly, it’s not really used all that much, and can’t be done in multiplayer, which would have spiced up online matches a bit.

Also new is a heavy focus on the more detailed setting of bombs and mines. Rather than just plainly pressing and holding a button on a specific spot, you now rotate the analog sticks to twists the wires, set the detonators, etc. There’s also a great deal more usage of vehicles in the game, which thankfully spills over into the multiplayer modes. Tanks, jeeps, and motorcycles (with sidecars) all add to the rush of combat.

The game has some strong voice work, but a lot of the opposing forces (you know, the Germans) sound like they were just lifted and recycled from the last game. Also, while the graphics are really top notch in most places, they seem to oddly falter in others. While playing a deathmatch online, I remarked at how detailed and unique the castle we were running around in looked, with it’s elaborate tapestries and suits of armor lining the halls. It was an odd feeling then to look down at my hand holding my rifle to see a mangled lump of clay. My hand looked like a foot; obviously I had been crippled in some form at birth, and I’m surprised they let me into the army at all. To say that the graphics aren’t uniform through out the game is an understatement. In some parts, you’ll be blown away by the smoke effects and realistic weaponry, in others you’ll wonder just how you managed that headshot, or why there’s now a levitating dead body on a staircase.

The multiplayer aspect has been greatly improved over the last game, which was the biggest concern for fans. The lobby system is great from the start, allowing to choose between game modes (something that was severely lacking from COD2 until a patch almost six months after release) such as deathmatch, team deathmatch, capture the flag, headquarters and the new War mode. In War, two teams have one section of a map to capture and defend for as long as possible. There are also variable classes for players to choose from, such as medics and scouts, each with special abilities. As a player gets more kills in an online session, his character class ranks up and his abilities grow. It’s a neat little system that will get COD3 to quickly many shooters online.

With a strong online presence, a decent if not shorter story mode and great graphics (for the most part) CALL OF DUTY 3 has a lot going for it. The WWII theme may be getting a little stale for some, however, and if you’re tired of taking down “Zee Germans” time and time again, this is still a good “last look”.

One Gamer’s Opinion:

THUG LIFE VOL. 1

THE SOPRANOS: ROAD TO RESPECT vs SCARFACE: THE WORLD IS YOURS

Ah, drugs and guns, thugs and hooligans. Is there any more popular subject for gaming (well, obviously other than WWII)? As subject for our first face-off, we take two games with similar themes and compare them”¦and in this case we find they’re not as similar as we had first thought.

Firstly, THE SOPRANOS, out for PS2, takes place between the HBO series 5th and 6th seasons and puts the player in the shoes of Joey LaRocca, son of the late rat, Sal “Big Pussy” Bonpensiero. Joey’s you’re typical mook out for a buck by snatching purses, but Tony Soprano puts a stop to that in his neighborhood but quick, and decides to take the kid on in more “legitimate” business exploits.

What this means is that you essentially take missions from Paulie and Christopher until you get enough respect to be invited to sit with Tony and the rest as a member of the family. And what do these outrageous missions entail? Beating the crap out of people. Endlessly. And”¦ that’s it.

Yeah, from a stint as one of the top rated, best written shows on television to a one note beat “˜em up, the road to respect is apparently paved with one two punches. Sure, the story is kind of diverse, with Joey moving not just from pounding mooks, but also saving a high school sweetheart from the porn industry, uncovering a plot from a rival Don to mash in on Tony’s turf, to even saving AJ from rival businessmen. Still, despite the story, it’s all “walk over here, talk to this guy, beat up wave after wave of guys”. Lather, rinse, repeat. And while the combat offers a decent variety of moves, including environmental hot spots, it feels loose and clunky, and the targeting is way out of “whack”, to put it loosely.

So we move to a different kind of gangster. This time, to the king of them all, Tony Montana. Acting a sequel to the movie (more like a “What If”) SCARFACE: THE WORLD IN YOURS, out for PS2 and Xbox, gives players the option of fighting through that final fateful battle of the film and living on as Tony as he rebuilds his empire and tries to take the streets back from his rival Sosa.

What at first looked like a cheap GTA knock off (which, in all accounts, is a rip off of the movie SCARFACE, especially VICE CITY) is actually more of a shooter in an open world environment. There are cars and weapons, buildings to enter and enact with, but the main story is very structured, and there’s more combat than anything else. Tony has a decent lock-on system, which you can finely tune to concentrate on specific body parts to shoot. The more serious wound you inflict, the more “Balls” you have. You can even taunt foes as they die, giving you more “Balls” for your meter. Max this meter out, and you’re filled with Tony’s “Blind Rage”, which enters the player into first person mode with all foes automatically targeted, and lets you blow them all away, increasing your health. It’s a good way to save your ass in deep fire fights, and you’ll actually end up using it pretty often.

While both games feature fantastic voice casts (the SOPRANOS including everyone from the show’s main cast) SCARFACE has the larger of the two, including such Hollywood luminaries as Michael York, James Woods, Cheech Marin, Robert Loggia, Robert Davi, and even View Askew vets Jason Mewes and Michael Rooker. The visuals also are a stand out and while Tony isn’t actually voiced by Al Pacino, his likeness is immediately recognizable, and the voice actor (André Sogliuzzo) was hand picked by Pacino, and does a fantastic job.

And while the combat is decent, the driving does have its faults. The missions are set up in a very GTA similar style, and locations on the map are marked with an X. As you drive, directional arrows appear on screen to tell you when to turn. However, the system doesn’t work as well as hoped. Most of the time you’ll end up circling where ever the destination is, either by being on the freeway ABOVE the actual location, or just poor directions not appearing in some cases, like when to pull into a driveway if you’re not paying close enough attention. Also, most of the cars seem to handle the same. An exotic car and an armored truck should move the same, but they do here.

As Tony rebuilds his empire, he can buy fronts to keep the Vice off his tail and his business, and you can outfit those fronts with thugs to protect your cash and goods from rival gangs. This adds a weird little micro-management angle with is refreshing, though not all to well executed here. Also, you can take all your ill-gotten gains, registered as “dirty money” to your friend at the bank to have it “cleaned”. Using a timed button press meter, you can “negotiate” how much percentage the bank takes off the top to launder your funds.

In much the same way, Tony can sell his drugs to street pushers. Time the button press when the meter fills, and you’ll convince them to join your team and sell your yayo. Most of the time, though, the mini game aspect of this feature doesn’t really deliver as well as it should. Still, it’s a nice diversion from driving and killing”¦sort of.

Between the two, SCARFACE seems to be the better choice. It has an open world environment, plenty to see and do, where as SOPRANOS has the “Bada Bing” hub, and transports you to the different locales automatically. The fisticuffs get a little stale after the first 2 hours of play in SOPRANOS, but there’s only two more hours left of gameplay after that, where as SCARFACE lasts a good 25 to 30. It’s surprising to note that I had higher expectations for the SOPRANOS game than I did SCARFACE. Where with one I was expecting a GTA rip off, I found a deeper centralization on combat with a decent amount of freedom and a large environment, and with the other while I expected more freedom, I found ONLY combat”¦and bad combat at that.

SCARFACE: THE WORLD IS YOURS:

THE SORPRANOS: ROAD TO RESPECT:

SUPERHERO SMACKDOWN VOL. 1

MARVEL ULTIMATE ALLIANCE vs JUSTICE LEAGUE HEROES

Those who read my column often know what a geek I am for comic games. When these two titles were announced, and were released within weeks of each other, I knew I had a smackdown lined up already. And while the games share a lot in common, there’s one clear victor. Between them, MARVEL ULTIMATE ALLIANCE (PC, PS2, PS3, Xbox, Xbox 360, PSP and GBA) and JUSTICE LEAGUE HEROES (PS2, Xbox, DS now, PSP next month) feature over 160 comic book characters”¦though the majority of those are in Marvel’s game.

After a great deal of success with the X-MEN LEGENDS series, developer Raven Software turned it’s sights towards the entire Marvel Universe with a daunting idea: what if ALL the villains teamed up? Players take on the familiar four hero teams and beat down all that oppose them in the typical dungeon crawler fashion made popular in those X-MEN past games. Here, however, there’s more emphasis on team play, as well as team dynamics. Include heroes from already existing teams (such as the Fantastic Four or the New Avengers) and you’ll be given bonuses in health or other stat attributes.

The same multiplayer format is here too, allowing four players to play at the same time, with drop-in/drop-out on the fly, as well as online play. The next gen versions of the game look the best and receive some extras, five extra “˜comic” missions and two exclusive playable characters, Colossus and Moon Knight. The PSP version includes a few exclusives as well, such as Black Widow, Ronin, Hawkeye and Captain Marvel, and three exclusive difficulty modes. Uber Hero has you choosing ONE lone hero with which to take on the villains (though your levels automatically boost to 99 to even things out). Hardcore has the limitation of death (where if one hero is offed, he’s gone for the entire game) and Hardcore Squad, where you have but one four man team to compete with”¦again, with death bringing no more help. These modes are only selectable after the game has been beaten however.

Once again, alternate costumes make an appearance, but this time, they offer more than aesthetic pleasure or a chance to see your favorite hero in your favorite outfit from comic’s past. Each suit has different attributes, which boost various levels such as health regeneration, different powers and more. The best suits for each hero are only unlocked after beating their “very difficult” comic missions, which you must locate throughout the game by picking up special discs hidden in the levels.

While this formula sounds familiar, it’s still works very well in the Marvel Universe, and with a selectable roster of over 25 heroes, with more than 140 Marvel characters making an appearance throughout the game (either as NPC or villains) this is the largest slugfest around for Marvel fans”¦who’d ever thought they’d see Fin Fang Foom and Tigershark in a game, and actually ENJOY fighting them?

Sadly, the same can’t fully be said for DC’s JUSTICE LEAGUE HEROES. While it too apes the dungeon crawling button mashing style of X-MEN LEGENDS, it’s pedigree is closer to the D&D side of things, as developer Snowblind Studios has it’s heritage with the BALDUR’S GATE series. In JLH, you can choose only TWO heroes to battle through the stages with, and in some cases, the choices aren’t even yours, the game makes them for you.

Still, limited as it may be, the roster is impressive. Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern (the John Stewart version), Martian Manhunter, Flash and Zatanna (wha?) all make an appearance, with Green Arrow, Aquaman and Huntress as unlockables. The powers the heroes employ also feature the similar “level up” style of MARVEL, but the various costumes don’t offer anything but different duds for you to trot around in.

The graphics here are decent, and offer a few better angles of the action than MARVEL’S game, but the villains you bash run into the repetitive. How many gorillas do I have to pound before PeTA arrests my Kryptonian butt? Thankfully, you can join in with a friend to battle the baddies, but only one, and no online features.

DC’s game seems to emulate MOST of the cool features MARVEL’S got a handle on, but doesn’t include the best ones, selection and online. Still, it’s an admirable mark, and one of the better DC licensed games (and definitely the best JUSTICE LEAGUE game). Still, ULTIMATE ALLIANCE is the best of the best, giving you more nerdgasms per mile. Now if each of these games had featured the words “Infinite”, “Civil”, “Crisis” or “War” in any combination”¦well, we might have a different story here.

MARVEL ULTIMATE ALLIANCE:

JUSTICE LEAGUE HEROES:

PLATFORMER’S PARADISE

LEGEND OF SPYRO: A NEW BEGINNING vs DEATH JR. II: ROOT OF EVIL

While platformers tend to be my favorite style of gameplay, the genre doesn’t have many great contenders these days, with Mario usually taking on sports games nowadays rather than hoping through the Mushroom Kingdom. Still, some series survive on and take their brand of jumping and combat to new systems, and even try to re-invent themselves. While our two opposing games here have little in common, the one thing they do share (other than being platformers) is their fantastic production values. Is it enough to make them worth playing?

For the little purple dragon that could, his new game is all about how his story began. As a reboot for the series, Sierra has released THE LEGEND OF SPYRO: A NEW BEGINNING on PS2, Gamecube, Xbox, GBA and DS. Here, Spyro’s story is completely redone. After being rescued by Ingnitius, an elder dragon, he is left to wash away in the river, in the hopes of finding a safe place after Cinder lays waste to the dragon homeland. And he does, being raised by a family of fireflies, with his best bud and “brother” Sparx. One day, his dragon powers start to kick in, and so does his life’s destiny: of being the chosen purple dragon of legend to save the dragon’s once again.

The story is told quite well with newly rendered cut scenes and a surprising Hollywood cast. Elijah “Frodo” Wood provides the voice for our young hero and David Spade (SNL, “Just Shoot Me”) voices Sparx. Most surprising however is Gary Oldman as “Inignitus”, the wise old dragon who aids Spyro on his quest.

The graphics on the console version are bright and vibrant and really standout as one of the best parts of the game. The gameplay, however, is your typical SPYRO adventure. You bash them with your head, breath fire on them, and repeat until defeated. The game does offer up some variety by way of combos, and you get bonuses for varying your fighting styles with juggles and the like. Spyro’s fire breath is also upgradable, which helps out as you collect orbs to fill out your stats with.

And while the stage design is basic but fun, with puzzles located throughout to slow down the “beat “˜em up” pace, some are best left forgotten. The flying levels in particular are rather horrendous. You glide on rails and attempt to shoot down foes being flung or flying at you with barely any sense of a real targeting reticule, which causes many restarts and much swearing. Still, there’s aren’t as many of these, so it’s not a huge problem.

The main trouble I had with SPYRO is that it all feels so”¦same-y. While it may be a reboot of the series, I’ve done it all before. Sure, there’s a bit less emphasis on collecting gems (thank god) so it’s not nearly as much of a fetch quest as past games, but there’s still the same repetitive style of the gameplay we’ve seen before. Thankfully, the boss battles mix things up a bit and the variety of foes is diverse enough that you won’t get too bored with things.

As with DEATH JR II on the PSP, the production value is also high. The cut scenes, while not featuring as recognizable a voice cast, still tell the story quite well, and are some of the best looking scenes I’ve seen for a handheld game. While on a trip in the woods to hunt down a cocoon for a science project, DJ and Pandora accidentally unleash a hellish wood nymph on the land, which ends up capturing DJ’s father”¦Death. It’s up the kids to save pops”¦and everybody else on the planet, naturally.

Here, players can choose either DJ or Pandora to battle the baddies, and each have their own unique melee and ranged attacks. DJ has his scythe and Pandora has a bone chain, a whip like lathe that can cause some serious damage. There’s also the series trademark of wacky weapons, such as the C4 hamsters (now more lethal), a flaming toilet paper gun and more.

The level design is once again riding that ragged edge of the weird, looking like a cross between Tim Burton and Tim Schafer. From a graveyard for dead toys to”¦well a Waffle House, weird is the order of the day. The Camera controls have been slightly improved here, though lock-on is a bit twitchy at times with the ranged weapons. The melee attacks will serve you the best, and DJ’s platforming skills have improved overall, with the scythe getting you just about every place you need to go.

While neither of these titles offer a whole lot that’s new, they still try a few tricks that should keep series fans interested. As platformers go, they’re fairly basic, but that’s not always a bad thing at all.

LEGEND OF SPYRO:

DEATH JR II:

ANIME SMACKDOWN

NARUTO UZIMAKI CHRONICLES vs DRAGON BALL Z BUDOKAI TENKAICHI 2

In the ongoing battle to see which Anime series has the most games made for it in a year, we have our two top contenders once again vying for the peak position. And while NARUTO and DRAGON BALL Z both feature their fair share of the karate and ninjitsu fisticuffs, both games actually have some fairly deep gameplay modes…albeit familiar ones.

Naruto wants to be the best ninja in the world. His first step should be a different outfit (orange? Yeah, that’s stealthy). But in his NARUTO UZIMAKI CHRONICLES on PS2, the young plucky ninja-to-be has quite the set of moves. Combat is flavorful and inventive, with plenty of earmarks and nods to the series, while keeping the style fresh and fun for those bored on the same old fighting games in the genre.

Rather than a simple one on one game, CHRONICLES has our boy battling it out in a semi-open environment. He’s given tasks by local merchants and villagers, and must complete them to progress. Granted, most of these aren’t hard by any stretch of the imagination, and some are downright repetitive (how many times must you guard someone’s cart?) but it’s a nice pace for an anime game to NOT feature one on one fighting.

The variety of moves is great, and you’ll be pulling off combos and fantastic finishers in no time. Sadly, the enemy AI doesn’t put up much of a fight for you to flex over. Most will barely block any attacks or even retaliate on their own, and when multiple foes appear, most just wait their turn to be wailed on rather than attacking you in force. A little Ai goes a long way”¦and this doesn’t even have a LITTLE. Still, what’s there makes for some fun, albeit monotonous fun.

On the DRAGON BALL Z side of things, however, the same format as before works just as well, and BUDOKAI TENKAICHI 2 (on PS2 and Wii) is the largest game yet in the series. Featuring over 100 fighters from the TV show’s three different series (Dragon Ball, Z and GT) and a storyline that spans the entire 160+ episode run of the Z series, this is definitely a lot of bang for your buck. There’s over 60 hours of gameplay in the main story!

Fighting has been honed and refined over the series, and counters play an integral part. Combos are in abundance as well, but now power-ups such as Super Sayian mode and Fusions are now incorporated directly into your move sets. The graphics are a real knockout here as well, with huge Earth shattering battles and environmental damage throughout. Fans will definitely find delight here.

For anime fans, which game to choose depends on which series is your favorite. While they certainly churn out enough DBZ games per year, I don’t see how they can possibly top the size and scope if this one. As for Naruto, his series may have been out for a while in Japan, but American audiences are just only starting to get a taste of the Nine Tailed Fox. Goku has a serious contender on his case if Naruto’s games improve like this one. Believe it!

NARUTO UZIMAKI CHRONICLES:

DRAGON BALL Z BUDOKAI TENKAICHI 2:

THUG LIFE VOL. 2

GRAND THEFT AUTO: VICE CITY STORIES vs SCARFACE: MONEY. POWER. RESPECT.

Our next group of thuggish ruggish games takes place on the handheld PSP. And while the big brother versions of these titles owe a lot to each other for their success, their handheld counterparts don’t quite live up to big poppa’s dreams.

For GRAND THEFT AUTO: VICE CITY STORIES, the fault lies with the series itself. After 9 games of gangsters doing gangster shit, it’s starting to become stale. Still, this story has some legs to begin with. Vince Vance (brother of Lance Vance from the original VICE CITY) has been dishonorably discharged from the military after being caught with his superior officers’ contraband. Back on the streets of Vice City (two years before Tommy Vercetti’s tale) Vince is trying to stay on the straight and narrow”¦but it doesn’t quite work out that way for the big lug. After dealing with a drunken gunrunner and bootlegger, Lance hooks up with his brother and the local drug cartels, and Lance isn’t quite the cool cat yet we’ve come to know. Backstory shapes the characters we’ve been familiar with and every plays out in that familiar GTA style.

What stops this title from being great is just that: familiarity. How many thug things can we do before we grow tired of it? Plus, with VICE CITY being most fans’ favorite in the series, rising above the bar set by that and SAN ANDREAS is a tough mark to beat. Still, VCS does fairly well, especially considering the restraints of the PSP. Draw distance is typically a problem, but control is hurt most, once again by the series same old targeting system.

Though, as far as familiarity goes, that’s not always a bad thing. While the story may have a more serious tone thanks to its “hero”, the series’ traditional humor can still be found throughout. Plus, the voice cast is top notch once again, forgoing the fact that it’s on the PSP, much of the Hollywood voices from the first VICE CITY return as their familiar characters, including Luis Guzman, Danny Trejo and Phillip Michael Thomas as Lance.

SCARFACE, however, is a totally different beast altogether. While it’s console version takes place after the film and incorporates a similar GTA style, the PSP version actually takes place DURING the film, but it’s execution is a bizarre one. After viewing some lengthy movie scenes directly from the feature, you’re dropped inexplicably into a TURN BASED STRATEGY GAME. Yes. I’ll repeat that. SCARFACE on PSP is a TURN BASED STRATEGY GAME.

As Tony, you buy thugs, pushers, drug labs and storehouses for your territories, then battle it out against rival gangs and turfs to see who comes out with the most money and acreage of Miami. The game moves in rounds, with a series of goals for each “mission” to be completed over these rounds. Complete the main objective and the mission ends.

The problem with this is that you’ll end up doing the same thing over and over again each round. But some thugs to protect your fronts. Buy some labs to make the product. Buy some drugs to sell. Buy power moves to execute during buying process or battles. Protect or attack turfs. Repeat ad nauseum. And the whole attack scenarios are done in such a way that is supposed to incorporate real time integration, such as telling which opposing thugs to attack, or specific foes to target, but it all moves along so fast that you don’t even realize that once you press one button, the rest becomes automated.

What is seriously lacking in newness in one, is only more lacking variety in the other. It would have been nice for Sierra to port over even a scaled down version of the console game for SCARFACE on PSP, but this just doesn’t make sense. GTA: VCS acts as the series last grasp at the same mold before they offer (hopefully) something brand new and exciting with the next gen GTA IV. All in all, it is what it is”¦GTA. Again.

GRAND THEFT AUTO: VICE CITY STORIES:

SCARFACE: MONEY. POWER. RESPECT.:

Alright. That’s it for this week. My hands are tired from typing and I don’t think my back can stand sitting at this computer anymore. More reviews and comparisons next week, and I think I may even have time to include my thoughts on the new Nintendo Wii, and it’s flagship title THE LEGEND OF ZELDA: TWILIGHT PRINCESS. See you in seven.

THE GAME ON! RATING SYSTEM

 

Kick-Ass, Right On, Okay, Eh, and Stinker (or Craptacular)