Sony Reviews

The seventh title in the popular Extreme Sports series is finally upon us. Tony Hawk’s American Wasteland continues in the new story-telling direction that Neversoft has implemented in the past few versions. This time around they really deliver an excellent story. However, for hardcore fans of the series--this may not be enough.

The Ratchet and Clank series has seen its share of awesome titles during its run on the PlayStation 2. The fourth installment on the franchise marks a ton of fundamental gameplay changes while still feeling relatively the same. This is both a good and bad thing.

Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy was a breath of fresh air for the PlayStation 2. It was with that game that Sony began to take dominance away from Nintendo in the platformer genre. Two sequels later, Naughty Dog still isn't done with the franchise. But those of you expecting just another Jak and Daxter adventure may be sad to learn that this time around the action is all in vehicles. Fear not, this bold new direction for Jak is actually a lot of fun.

Everyone's favorite raccoon has returned to the PlayStation 2 for his third adventure. This time Sly brings more friends with him to help him in this witty and charming cel-shaded platformer that only Sucker Punch could bring you. While it may be practically the same game, Sly 3 has enough new tricks to make anybody feel like a kid again.

Oh how the years go by... I remember my first E3 very fondly in Atlanta, Georgia during the year of 1997. The Nintendo 64 and PlayStation were battling it out for dominance and Sega was in the background licking its Saturn wounds. However, one game I was eagerly waiting for was not there. Agetec, then known as ASCII, had publicly refused to bring US audiences the RPG Maker game for the PlayStation. One of my goals at the show that year was to go cause a fuss about this. Ben, a former colleague, was with me and we could not get anywhere with the PR folks there. Why was the company content on showing some horrific fishing title? Since then, Agetec has "seen the light" and given players the RPG Maker Series. In this third installment, they improve upon the franchise. However, does it warrant a purchase?

I must admit, this year I wasn't too excited about playing this year's installment of madden. I was thinking it was going to be the same game with a new roster and a few new animations. I must admit after actually sitting down with the game for a few weeks, I'm very impressed.

The little EyeToy camera has yet another game disc for you to throw into your PlayStation 2. EyeToy: Play 2 is the second release of mini-games from Sony that takes full advantage of the creative nature of the camera. For those of you that were turned off or did not enjoy the first release from Sony--fear not. The second disk is full of longer, more challenging, and more fun mini-games.

This month we bring to you a game from the majestic islands of Japan in the Far East. Getting the itch for something different, I decided to hit up the import market and see what craziness I could get my paws on. Oh and what craziness I did find. I present to you Daibijin SP2000 Vol. 50. I have no idea what the SP2000 Vol. 50 is all about, but the game title for English speaking folks is The Giant Beauty. Basically, there’s a fifty story tall bikini model walking around shooting lasers out of her eyes, kicking over buildings and generally just pulling a big, fat Godzilla on everything. It is your humble duty to shoot the crap out of her using choppers, tanks and a fighter plane. Come on, how could I not buy this one?

In the Groove is a Dance Dance Revolution (also known as DDR) clone from RedOctane. RedOctane first became popular several years ago when they began offering an online rental service for videogames similar to Netflix. They branched out and became the developer of the best DDR dance mats for all consoles. Now that they are firmly established for making peripherals and renting games, the company has begun to create their own unique gaming experiences.

Flipnic Ultimate Pinball for PS2 is one of the best pinball games ever created. With the decline of Pinball in arcades around the world, there is a certain nostalgic quality that you will find immediately with Flipnic, especially with its weird 70's vibe. The presentation of the game is amusing enough, with retro music, and even a smoky bar look. However the games original aspects end up hurting some of the level design, still Flipnic is fresh, original, but ultimately, it is pinball and that can only carry you so far.