Sony Reviews

It’s that time of the year again: leaves falling to the ground, annoying younger siblings headed back to school, and the melodic sound of crunching pads blasting through the surround sound speakers in my living room. Football season has finally arrived.

NHL 2k3 was undoubtedly the best hockey game of last year. NHL 2k3 provided hockey fans with the most realistic game play of any hockey game on the market, even with its graphical and audio drawbacks. This year Sega decided to have their sports games bare the ESPN license. Instead of their latest installment being called NHL 2k4, it's now called ESPN NHL Hockey. Fans of NHL 2k3 shouldn't worry because ESPN NHL Hockey is a major improvement over last year's edition.

Sony and 989 Sports made a triumphant return with the release of NFL GameDay 2004. This is the first time in several years where their NFL game has been very competitive with the other titles on the market. Leading the way in online features, 989's next goal was to continue improving their NCAA GameBreaker franchise. Unfortunately, their attempt came up just a little bit short.

Last year I was a bit disappointed that NFL GameDay 2003 was not a little more competitive with the other titles. Going back to the drawing board once again, 989 and Red Zone Interactive decided to add plenty of online features, and use a new engine. While the graphics may not be quite on the level with the other football titles on the PlayStation 2, if you can look past this area, you will find a great football game underneath the surface.

Do you remember the Twisted Metal series? It is only one of the most popular franchises on the PlayStation and PlayStation 2. Developer Incog Inc. created the series and after other developers tarnished the name by releasing some subpar sequels, they took the development reigns back and created the incredibly popular Twisted Metal: Black. This game went down in history as one of the best selling selling games early on in the PS2 life cycle. We haven't seen a whole lot out of Incog Inc. since then. Earlier this year, they released the excellent War of the Monsters. This game didn't really seem to receive the attention it deserved. Probably because it was released during the "off-months" of gaming. Despite a temporary break in racing with War of the Monsters, Incog Inc. and Sony have teamed up to bring Downhill Domination.

I love the Tomb Raider series... or at least I used to. I recall vividly when the original came out and how it revolutionized both busty women staring in games and making 3D accelerators a necessity on PC's. This game was the reason why I had to get a Voodoo 1 card. The second game in the series was more of the same and while I didn't enjoy it as much as the first it was still fun. From there, the series has gone downhill with the exception of two really great Game Boy titles. With the release of the highly anticipated, and much delayed, Tomb Raider: The Angel of Darkness, developer Core has sunk this series to an all-new low.

Every four years the Winter Olympics draw millions of people around the world to their television sets to watch the top athletes of the world compete for the gold, silver, and bronze medals in a variety of different sports. While the games maybe over in Utah, Konami has provided gamers a way to continue to relive the excitement of several Olympic sports--including: Downhill Alpine Skiing, Slalom Alpine Skiing, K90 Individual Ski Jumping,K120 Individual Ski Jumping, Moguls - Freestyle Skiing, Halfpipe Snowboarding, Speed Skating 500M, Bobsleigh, Curling, and Figure Skating. Although the end result isn't perfect, you may find it entertaining enough to purchase.

The original Midnight Club sold very well. Although it had some technical problems as a first generation title, Rockstar has put a lot of effort into ensuring that the sequel is polished, fun, and that it stands out from the rest of the titles in the genre. But what genre of gameplay does Midnight Club II fall in? While it is not a simulation like Gran Turismo or an arcade-style racer like the Burnout series, Midnight Club II fits somewhere in the middle of these two titles.

When normally seeing a new Square Enix game released, I would like to think I could trust that no matter what they release, it will offer some sort of magical Role Playing experience. For the most part, this theory is true. However, there have been a few exceptions to this rule. After playing Unlimited Saga, I am afraid to admit that not only is this another exception to the rule, it could be the worst Square Enix game ever released. Since the company hasn't been "officially" together for very long--allow me to rephrase this statement. This could be the worst game that either company has ever released. Yes, it is that bad.

Are you a fan of arcade-style racers? If so, you will probably want to steer clear of IndyCar Series--the latest from Codemasters. But for those of you who don't mind playing a simulation racer, this game, based on the IndyCar racing league from Codemasters, may just offer what you are looking for.