Review: Diddy Kong Racing DS (DS)

Graphics- 8/10
Sound- 9.5/10
Gameplay- 9/10
Replay Value- 8/10
Overall- 8.5/10

I was in need of a new DS game, so I went hunting. I remembered Diddy Kong Racing DS, so I purchased it. This is another game you can chalk up as a great N64 remake.

I guess I should start out by saying that I am very much in the minority when it comes to this games. It seems like everyone who touches this game hates it. It could be that I was way too excited to the Rare logo on a Nintendo game for the first time in way too long or it could be that I want to like this game, because I liked the original for the N64. Anyways, whatever the reason is, I like the game. People have complained about the graphics and more specifically, the textures. I have noticed this - but I only see this when I am looking for a problem, and that is not how I should review a game. In other words, when you aren't looking for any problems, odds are you won't see any. Enough about the graphics, lets get right down to the gameplay - and boy is there a lot of it. The racing aspect of this game has remained great, and nothing really has to be said, because almost nothing has changed (read what I said here.) The only change is to the start of the race, more specifically the way you boost at the beginning. If you are in a car, you spin a wheel on the touch screen, if you are in a plane you spin a propeller, and if you are in a hovercraft you blow into the microphone. To say the least, this is a very compelling idea, unfortunately, spinning the wheel is so hard, spinning the propeller is to easy, and blowing is way way to easy (oops...). However, this is a very minor detail. As long as we are talking about the cars, I might as well tell you one of the new features that I like about this game. That is the newly added unlockable features, which includes car upgrades. Are you as excited as I was? Well... probably not, but anyways, my excitement didn't last long because, it turns out upgrading is too easy, and makes the game too easy. If you keep losing a race, just upgrade your top speed, and you will win. "But, wait," you say, "I don't have enough coins to upgrade!" (you collect coins during races.) Well then, you just go back to the first races, the way too easy races, and you collect lots of coins. The other things that you can unlock include a design-a-course race, which I was disappointed in, mainly due to its lack of depth.

Anyways something that I loved in the original was the music, it was awesome, and thank god it wasn't changed for this game. Hot Top Volcano still has the same somewhat stereotypical music. Another thing I loved in the original was the elephant's extremely stereotypical Indian voice, but unfortunately, this did not return (it's not hard to figure out why.) Something else that I have yet to mention is the Wi-Fi, and for the most part it works fine, it's nothing special. It does add more to the game though. In the end, I still spend a lot of time with this game, and I don't care what everyone else says. If you read my original review, you can understand why I like the remake. Is my review possibly biased? Well get used to this, it's a good game.

Pros: Upgrades, Music the same, Much like the original.
Cons: Loss of stereotypical Indian voice, Design a course, Upgrades.

Review: Dan

Editorial: Idiocy in the World of Today's Courtroom

Recently, a new lawsuit was filed against Sony for the use of a Cell that can do synchronized parallel processing with shared memory. Of course, this is referring to the technology used within the Playstation 3. But why is this lawsuit different? One word: idiocy.

Here are the facts: The company suing is International Parallel Processing, who got the rights for the patent way back in 1991; which begs the question; why did they wait so long to tell Sony the Cell was patented. The technology and the use of it in the Playstation 3 was made public very loudly during the development of the system. Secondly, International Parallel Processing hasn't actually said how this hurts them as it seems they haven't done anything with said technology in the last 16 years. Lastly, not only has International Parallel Processing asked for Sony to pay the damages which haven't at all been specified, they've also asked that all Sony products using the technology be destroyed; that means all Playstation 3 systems.

Although I wouldn't believe that the destruction of millions of Playstation 3 systems will be forced on Sony, we have to realise that this claim is ridiculous. The game industry is huge, rich, and advanced; yet it is still weak to attention loving politicians and greedy companies. International Parallel Processing has the right to defend it's patent, but asking for such a large scale destruction of a major console is an obvious move of hostility towards the easily targeted game industry.

Editorial: Vedran

Review: Super Stardust HD (PS3)

Graphics- 9/10
Sound- 8/10
Gameplay- 9/10
Replay Value- 7/10
Overall- 8/10

Super Stardust HD is not the first game in the dual-joystick genre, but it's probably the best on the PS3. It features crisp visuals, a nice soundtrack, and a fun co-op feature. For only $8, this game is one of the best available from the Playstation Store.

In Super Stardust HD, you take control of a spaceship that orbits a planet on a grid. Your goal is to protect the world from the asteroids that are hurdling towards it. Once they reach the planet, they circle it on the grid, leaving you to destroy them before they destroy you. Because the planet is, of course, a sphere, the playing field is a sphere. The concept is pretty simple, and the game is easy to get into and start playing. However, there are three different types of weapons that you have, each for a specific type of asteroid. For example, the rock crusher does more damage to rocks than the gold melter does, but not as much damage to gold. This gameplay element makes the game more fun, but also more challenging. Also, at the center of the asteroids are power-ups that give you an extra life, make your weapons stronger, or give you a shield. You will often find yourself frantically switching weapons, trying to avoid getting hit, and trying to collect power-ups at the same time. There are several planets to defend, each with five stages of varying difficulty, that end with a boss fight. There is also an online leaderboard, so you can see how you compare with others.

The multiplayer comes in the form of co-op, but its offline only. Both players play on the same screen and have independent controls. However, if one player moves too far away from the other, the other player gets dragged along with. But it is to the players' advantage to stick close together, as it boosts the weapons power. The planets aren't very detailed, but the asteroids and the explosions are very nicely rendered. The asteroids blow up into oddly-shaped pieces, and the weapons create some flashy explosions. The soundtrack and sound effects of the game are nothing special, but the sci-fi theme fits the game incredibly well. If you have played plenty of games like this one before, then Super Stardust HD might be a pass, even though it's a solid game. If you are new to the genre, then this game is an excellent place to start.

Pros: Nice presentation, good value for price, co-op.
Cons: Limited replay value, not the first in genre.

Review: Eric

Review: Final Fantasy III (DS)

Graphics- 8.5/10
Sound- 10/10
Gameplay- 9/10
Replay Value- 8.5/10
Overall- 9/10

I've long been a fan of the Final Fantasy series, but since I missed out on some of the oldies, I've been picking up the newer remakes. And I must tell you, Final Fantasy III on the DS is the best of the remakes and already one of my favorite Final Fantasy games.

Recently, with the rise in new Final Fantasy releases, the market has seen a rise, as well, in remakes of the older, classic Final Fantasies. Final Fantasy III on the DS is one of the newer remakes and easily the most updated, as the graphics have been changed from 2D to 3D. Although it is obvious that the graphics are certainly not the best on a portable system, they give the game a certain charm that makes the visuals very appealing. One of the main things that adds to this is the wonderful use of color in the designs and environments. The picture is very crisp, appealing, and fun to watch due to the use of color and detail. With all these properties working together, the visuals prove to be very attractive. Working with the visuals, the sound, namely the music, really raises the game to another level of entertainment. The soundtrack, specifically the theme song, is breath taking at numerous moments. The music is perfectly composed, with the ability to affect your emotions drastically.

The game play is truly what gives the game it's classic feeling. Just like Final Fantasy games of old, the game takes place on a large over world, covered by green fields, dense forests, and rugged mountains; as well, the other part of the adventure is when you enter the numerous, detailed dungeons, towns, and castles for quests that range from treasure hunting to saving the world. There is plenty of room in the game which supports the free form questing style of the game. As you travel through the more detailed places of the world, such as caves and dungeons, the feeling is truly adventurous with the threat of monsters and the reward of treasure being real. As well, there is a nice feature to the game; as it's name, zoom, implies, you zoom in the camera to find needed items and buttons for secret passage ways. The game really uses the feature in the game play and it is often needed for advancement. This zoom feature adds a feeling of light puzzle solving to the adventure. The battles themselves are true to the classic, turn based style of older Final Fantasy games. Fighting is simple, quick, and often fun and satisfying, with some key battles being more epic in scale, giving the game a nice range of action.

These are all the elements that make the game what it is; fun, adventurous, and pretty free, but the main feature is the job system. The job system allows you to choose what type of adventurers your characters are at almost any moment. The choices range from warrior to red mage and thief to monk. Even more options become available as you advance through the game, such as dragoon and ninja. The game play really changes depending on the classes chosen, making it easy to make the game fun for any ones' taste. In the end, the choice of classes throughout the game, along with it's semi-free form nature really gives the game a nice amount of replay value. Over all, Final Fantasy III is a wonderful addition to the DS, and a great remake. The visuals are appealing, the game play is very fun and adventurous, and the music is truly stunning. As well, even with out replaying the game, you can have tons of time of fun and adventure with this one.


Pros: Very appealing design, great adventure, wonderful music. Job system is fun
Cons: Graphics aren't quite as good as they could be.

Review: Vedran

Review: Splinter Cell: Double Agent (360*)

Graphics- 9/10
Sound- 8.5/10
Gameplay- 8.5/10
Replay Value- 8.5/10
Overall- 8.5/10

The Splinter Cell series is still going strong. Since the original, many improvements have been made; such as lighting, graphics, and a lot more interactivity with the world in the game. But can Double Agent match up, or more importantly, improve on Chaos Theory, the 3rd part in the series which seemed to perfect Splinter Cell?

Many fans of this franchise have probably heard the talk of the new features of Double Agent; an all new out look on objectives in which the protagonist, Sam Fisher, faces decisions that could change the game dramatically. As the story begins, Sam is being placed into a different position than in previous game. As a double agent, Sam needs to gain the trust of the terrorist group he has infiltrated to ultimately stop them from within. Yet there are quite a few twists. Every level has several objectives for both the NSA(good guys) and the terrorist group, the completion of the objectives gains the trust of the side that gave you the order and everything is just peachy, right? Not really, many times you will find yourself choosing between two conflicting objectives, meaning that one side will trust you a little more, and the other will trust you a little less at the end of the level. As the game goes on, the decisions you make will build on top of one another to reach the ending; on which your choices will have a heavy effect. Although this has been used in some games before, this is pretty new to the Splinter Cell series. But the thing that matters is that this new aspect of game play really does make the game more interesting, or, in other words, more suspenseful, and suspense is the biggest part of having fun in a stealth game.

Now, on to the core game play. Veterans of previous Splinter Cell games will be at home in this part, as many of the previous moves are here, and that's great news as those game play features are fun to use, the problem is that not too many new things to do are found here. Besides the new double agent set up, this Splinter Cell feels much like it's predecessors. Expect to be on the edge of your seat most of the time, planning your moves carefully, and using gadgets and the environment to complete your objectives. That being said, the game play is very fun and that is great for new comers and Splinter Cell lovers, just don't expect anything dramatically different.

One very noticeable difference in Splinter Cell: Double Agent are the graphics. Everything from the hairs on Sam's rugged beard to the environmental details looks great. The visuals are very detailed, crisp, clean, and quite realistic. Although these aren't the juiciest graphics, it's still a visual feast, even on next gen standards. Sadly, though, there are minor graphical issues here and there, such as cloth and body interaction, but nothing serious. To go along with the visuals, the game's sound really does a great job. The music is very fitting and really sets the mood. And the sound effects are pretty realistic, although, the gunfire did seem a tad soft.

In the end, Splinter Cell: Double Agent does a good job of moving the series forward with the same, suspenseful game play, an intuitive double agent system that really makes a difference to the choices you make, crisp visuals, and clean sound. As well, being able to make choices that can change the game really ups the replay value. Splinter Cell: Double Agent is great for fans of the series and newcomers as well.

Pros:Suspenseful, fun game play. Double Agent feature adds to this. Very good graphics. decisions affect the game.
Cons: Game play not very different than previous Splinter Cell games.

Review: Vedran

* Also on Playstation 2, Gamecube, Playstation 3, Wii, Xbox, and PC. Review for 360 version only.

Review: Mario Kart DS (DS)

Graphics- 9.5/10
Sound- 10/10
Gameplay- 10/10
Replay Value- 10/10
Overall- 9.5/10

Best Mario Kart game ever. Period. This game has it all; great courses, great gameplay, online gameplay, great characters and karts, and the list just keeps going.

This is what it is all about, I don't know if I will ever get so much entertainment from a DS game. Not only was the single player nicely done, the multiplayer was too. To start the single player, is set up just like all the other Mario Kart game. You have to choose between 50cc, 100cc, and 150cc - with 50cc being the easiest and 150cc being the most difficult. As you beat different cups you unlock different rewards such as new karts, courses and characters. That leads me into another great feature of this game, and that is the cup selection. In this game it is set up so there are eight total cups to chose from. There is the normal four and then the "retro four" which is basically the previous games greatest hits, course wise. They did manage to get it pretty close to perfect with the course selection (damn Baby Park). Not only are the four retro cups nicely done, but the new ones are nicely done also. If you remember this is the problem that I had with Double Dash, and this little problem was fixed very nicely. I still like to go back to the courses and play the computers every once and awhile, which is something that is very hard to achieve in a racing game, but if I get bored of the computers I can always play some noobs online. This is where my only compliant for the game is - the online system is a little bare. Overall however it isn't bad for Nintendo's first online system. It also can be a little annoying when you play a hacker online, but that is not the games fault.

Another good feature about this game is the character and Kart selection choices. Once is all said and done you get to choose from up to twelve characters: Mario, Luigi, Princess Peach, Yoshi, Toad, Donkey Kong, Wario, Bowser, Princess Daisy, Waluigi, Dry Bones, and R.O.B. As far as karts go you ultimately get to chose from 36. Now, I don't know if you're aware but that is a lot of karts that you can choose from. On top of that there are many other good things about the game. There is mission mode, which can be anything from drive through some tires, to fighting Boo for coins. Mission mode can be fun and all, but there is no reward for it, other than the satisfaction of perfect completion. You can also design your own emblems to be used in multiplayer races and battles. Which reminds me, the battles in this game tend to be a forgotten aspect, and they should not be. I guess what I am trying to say is that well this is the best "kart" racing game ever made, console or portable system because it combines the best aspects from all the previous games. This game is one of those must-own games that you hear so much about.

Pros: Tracks, Characters, Karts, Multiplayer, Single player, Online.
Cons: Online bare, Snakers online.

Review: Dan