E3 2003 Photo Album
June 16, 2003
Here is the listing of our E3 2003 Photo Album:
Read more
E3 2003 Discussion
June 13, 2003
Rhuno: Well, bro, another year’s gone by and with it, E3 2003 has come and gone. What did you think about this year’s show?
Beef: Woah, pony, slow down! The show was great, but shouldn’t we talk about the press conferences we went to first? Read more
Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow
June 7, 2003
I have a secret I need to let you in on. I never really cared for the Castlevania series much… Before everyone jumps all over me–allow me to explain. The first incarnation of the series on the NES never really grabbed me… however, I fell in love with Castlevania 2: Belmont’s Quest because of all the RPG elements in it. I never really found much to enjoy in the Castlevania world until the greatest 2D game of all time–and PlayStation classic–Castlevania Symphony of the Night was released. This game brought just the right mix of action, adventure, and RPG elements to the table and created a classic that numerous games have tried to imitate since it was released in 1997. The list of games that have attempted to copy the formula found in Symphony of the Night includes Castlevania Circle of the Moon, Castlevania Harmony of Dissonance, and now Castlevania Aria of Sorrow. Each of these three GBA titles has done a pretty good job of converting the “magical SotN” formula on to the tiny GBA screen. But each of them have had their faults. Circle of the Moon was entirely too dark to play unless you had an Afterburner mod installed in your GBA or purchased a GBA SP. Also, the game was one of the hardest titles in the series. Harmony of Dissonance was entirely too easy and lacked the “magical SotN” feel. It was much easier to see than Circle of the Moon. Now we finally have a new GBA incarnation in the series. Aria of Sorrow is the closest we have come to Symphony of the Night since it was released in 1997. By combining the right mix of challenge, action, and RPG features, we are looking at the best handheld Castlevania game ever created. Read more
Enter the Matrix
June 6, 2003
Enter the Matrix is a movie port. Meaning that this game is an extension of the movie. It will explain more of the scenes and will add something to your movie experience. I strongly suggest you see the movie first because there are some major spoilers in the game. It doesn’t show the whole plot or the end but it does show the majority of it with some twists. With that said, on to the game itself. Read more
Brute Force
June 6, 2003
Brute Force is the long-awaited third-person action title from developer Digital Anvil. Two years ago, it was shown at E3 and was expected to be released in 2002. However, Digital Anvil delayed Brute Force so they could further polish the game and add in Xbox Live elements. Everyone was ready to play a big first party action title over Xbox Live and Brute Force was supposed to be the title to fill this void in the online lineup. However, with the release of Brute Force, the only online elements found are “soon to be announced” downloadable content. This is very similar to what Microsoft promised with Mech Assault. While they ultimately have delivered some content, sadly and I am sure they will do the same with Brute force, the only way to play multiplayer is to play with up to four players on one Xbox or up to eight players over a system link cable and two Xbox consoles. Oh where, oh where has my Xbox Live multiplayer support gone? Oh where, oh where can it be? Read more
Dot.Hack: Part 2 Mutation
June 6, 2003
Remember the old song–2nd verse same as the first. This sums up Dot.Hack in a nutshell.
Dot.Hack is a one player RPG that is meant to look and feel like you are playing a MMORPG. If you don’t know what a MMORPG odds are you have no game magazines or have never heard of the in-ter-net. But to humor people, a MMORPG is a Massive, Multiplayer, Online, Role, Playing, Game. This is a one player game made by Bandai that is trying to make a franchise out of a video game and doing it in reverse order. There was a cartoon on Cartoon Network and action figures before the 1st installment of the game even came out. Bandai was trying to create a “buzz” about the game. Did it work????? It worked on me. Read more
Hulk
June 6, 2003
Ah that loveable green guy… no, I am not talking about Kermit the Frog, I am referring to the Hulk. I grew up reading the adventures of Spider-Man and the X-Men and never gave much attention to the Hulk. However, with the popularity of comic book based movies and games, it is no surprise that Vivendi Universal is publishing Radical Entertainment’s version of the upcoming movie. Surprisingly, it is a fun–yet shallow–experience. Read more
WarioWare, Inc.: Mega Microgame$
June 4, 2003
You’ve probably already heard something about this game. When a game involves parking cars, picking noses, and playing golf, people will tend to notice. Yeah, that could be a really thorough golf simulator, but the game also has you eating fruit, snowboarding, and playing Metroid. That’s not even the wackiest stuff that you’ll see. Wario Ware is very quirky, and it’s a very strange concept for a game, but it’s really original and highly addictive. If you don’t know anything about the game yet, you’re probably very confused. In Wario Ware, the player is challenged with over 200 mini-games (in Wario Ware, they are called microgames). The trick is that each microgame only lasts a few seconds, but you must play dozens of them in rapid succession. It’s a strange concept, but it turned out to be a lot of fun. Read more
Delta Force: Black Hawk Down
June 3, 2003
While many may be confused by the title as having some relation to the movie or book, the game has nothing to do with the movie. Novalogic has created a game, which is centered on operations carried out by the 10th mountain division (light infantry) and members of Task Force Ranger (US Army Rangers and Delta Force). The peacekeeping mission was known as Operation Restore Hope. In the early 90′s the horn of Africa was enraged by a bloody civil war and a famine, which had already killed 300,000 people. In response the United Nations sent peacekeepers to bring aid and stability to the country of Somalia. The United States had a separate mandate after peacekeeping, which was to capture a powerful warlord named Mohammed Farrah Aidid who used starvation to gain support among the Somali citizens. How does the game fair? Read more
Tribes Aerial Assault
June 1, 2003
Tribes Aerial Assault had much emphasis placed on it since Sierra was making their first online game for the PS2. In June’s issue of Official Playstation Magazine Tribes was described as a game that would surpass Halo in every way imaginable. The Tribes series has had a good reputation on the PC but is Sierra able to make the transition from PC to PS2? Read our review to find out! Read more