Review: Halo 2 (Xbox*)

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

The original Halo put the Xbox on the map. The insults against the Microsoft system couldn't stand against this shocking shooter. And now, Halo's back, and it is SWEET!

Halo 2 basically picks up where the original left off and the Covenant want payback. The game definitely shows of its power in the visuals. First off, expect to see some superb designs. But the game really shines in its graphics, and they are SHINY. The details are wonderfully deep and make the game very realistic. As well, the overall picture and colors are crisp and clean. Besides the actual great graphics, the designs are definitely original and well done. The designs of the human soldiers, weapons, and vehicles are very realistic and are what you would expect them to be in the future. This is very good as it adds to the game's realism. As well, the Covanent designs are alien, imperialistic, and fit the idea of a marauding civilization of space. The environments, too, are quite stunning. Weapons, vehicles, and ammo are placed well throughout the maps. Also, the setup of the levels adds to the strategy of the game with abilities such as flanking your enemies and taking up sniping positions. These designs add to the already superb gameplay.

As you venture through the game, you'll usually find yourself on the move, heart pumping, with your guns constantly dishing out hot lead and searing plasma. You'll be armed with plenty of weapons from the human Battle Rifle to the Covenant Carbine and even from the famous (or infamous for some people) rocket launcher to the new Energy Sword, fresh from the Covenant weapon lineup. As mentioned, you'll be in a near constant state of movement and firefights. This means this game is overflowing with adrenaline. But this game isn't all about the rush, you'll have to make use of smart strategy and quick thinking to survive. The end result is a stunning combination of action and on-the-go planning and choices which makes for great realism. Adding to this is your arsenal. As I said it's quite large and varied. But also, the weapons are made just right, with each one having its own crisp sound and feel. But the burst from a SMG isn't the only good sound here. The music is quite superb, in fact, it's a pretty big highlight. From the start screen to the end credits, orchestral music mixed with a bit of rock and a pinch of techno will drive you through the action. Songs are well placed in the levels to bestow emotions of fear, excitement, and many others. If you don't know already, Halo's music is quite famous, and the same goes for Halo 2's. The tunes will definitely be welcomed by many ears. And don't worry about finishing this game, as the multiplayer is very well built with plentiful and will keep you coming back.

In the end, Halo 2 is a game with stunning graphics and even better gameplay with plenty of options. As well, the soundtrack is powerful, deep, and raises the game to another level. It's no wonder this game is so big.


Pros:Lots of action with many choices on how to fight. Great graphics and designs. Superb music and sound. Great multiplayer.
Cons: None.

Review: Vedran

*Also available for the PC, review for Xbox only.

Review: Super Paper Mario (Wii)

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

A classic Mario game with RPG elements...How could you go wrong? The biggest feature of this game is the ability to flip from 2-D to 3-D, and that works very well.

Super Paper Mario is my current "holdover" game. A "holdover" game is a game that I might not buy at full price except for it's the only good game out at the time. This is by far one of the better Holdover games that I have gotten...Although I have gotten games like 007: Agent Under Fire and Sonic Adventure 2 Battle in the past. Anyway, onto the game, it was basically advertised as a major update to the Paper Mario Series while retaining some of the RPG elements that we have come to expect from Paper Mario games. It did achieve what it said by adding an entire to aspect with the 2-D to 3-D ability. However, the RPG elements that it retained are very mild. Basically you can raise your HP after awhile and you can use items to attack enemies, which I never have really used. This does help the game, but fans of the turn-based combat of previous Paper Mario games will be disappointed because I have yet to encounter any turn-based combat. I think it would have been really cool to have all the boss fights as Turn-Based. That might have taken away from these boss fights, because they are some of the best I have seen in quite some time. Most games try and make the bosses big, scary, and a graphical wonder. Super Paper Mario makes the fight unique, interesting, and really fun. Speaking of graphical achievements...this game is not one. It's hard to have a Mario game as a graphics-driven game, but this game has decent graphics. You can see this the most when you flip to 3-D. I guess the best way to describe the graphics is "sharp." That is the game doesn't have any truly rough graphical features in it.

The other things that work well is multiple characters. You can play as Mario, (duh) Luigi, Peach, and Bowser. Yes Bowser, you see you are not actually after Bowser in this game, you are after Count Bleck. How does this happen? you ask, Well, pay attention to how the story unfolds and you will learn. I am telling you to pay attention because you might find it hard to follow the story because there is way to much talking, and not only that, it also makes a really bad sound whenever someone is talking. As long as I'm talking about things that make this game an 8.5, a lack of dash button comes to my mind. When I was reading other reviews for this game I thought that the lack of the dash button that we have come used to classic Mario games was a lame excuse to knock off points for the score. Well I was wrong. When I'm playing the game I always reach over to use the dash button, which results in me using my Pixl, (little creature that help you with various tasks along the way) I have just grown to used to the dash button. But as I was saying before, the multiple character work well, and they add reply value because you can go back to other courses and use each character's unique abilities to achieve more points and unlock new items.

Right now this is the best game that the Wii has out, and may be for awhile. You should cough up the $50 because it's a classic Mario with RPG elements...damn you Nintendo, that is how I think of the game now. Seriously, it is a good game and is worth the purchase.

Pros: Classic Mario, Multiple characters, Graphics are fine, Mild RPG elements work well, good replay value, 2-D to 3-D.
Cons: No dash button, Way to much talking.

Review: Dan

Review: Monster Hunter (PS2)

Graphics- 7/10
Sound- 8.5/10
Gameplay- 8.5/10
Replay Value- 9/10
Overall- 8.5/10

Monster Hunter by Capcom is an RPG in which hunt monsters, like the title implies. However, the main premise of the game is to carve dead monsters for parts which the player uses for weapons and items. This system, whether it sounds like it or not, works very well, and creates a fun and unique experience.

As soon as I heard about this game, I was excited. The whole monster-carving thing seemed like a cool idea. Thankfully, it worked very well, because now that I think about it, it could have been horrible. This game has both single-player and online multiplayer. At the time I got the game, I didn't have online, so I played offline. The offline part is okay. You talk to the town elder to get quests. They start off incredibly easy, and gradually get harder. The difficulty is rated by stars, with 5-star quests being the hardest. The thing is, in the first 2 stars, you barely hunt any monsters that can cause you significant harm. But in 3-star quests you get to fight more deadly prey. Unfortunately for me, I was really bad at first and had horrible weapons and armor. If I were to have reviewed it then, I probably would have given it a 5 or a 6.

But then my friend encouraged me to get the online because he said he was getting it, so I decided to finally get online for my PS2. This move was well worth it. The online portion of the game is very well done. First of all, there are more monsters you can fight. These are mainly ones that would be too hard to fight offline by yourself. This brings me to my second point: more materials to carve. These are used for the third point: more armor and weapons. The variety is truly incredible. The weapons get more powerful and the armor protects more. Also, there were a ton of people online to play with. Another advantage of online play: playing with someone better than you to get better stuff for yourself. Most of the quests from offline are here, but the game gets right to the action with some hunting quests in 1-star. There are up to 6-star quests online, with the 6-star ones being near impossible to beat alone, and still hard to do with 4 HR 20's (HR = "Hunter Rank" = level of character; 20 is the highest level). There are some quests that are very easy for 6-star (kill 20 ioprey), but also some that are very hard (powderstone, four horns).

The graphics in this game are decent; they sure could have been a lot worse. But there is so much clipping in this game that it's a little distracting. The soundtrack however, while a little repetitive, is very well done. It is orchestral, and fits the mood of the game very well. The sound effects also work well, although they are repeated for several different weapons.

If this game doesn't sound like a game for you, it might not be. It does take a while to get a very good character, especially if you play offline. The game also gets repetitive, even with all of the different weapons, armor, and enemies. Also, the game has been out for a few years. While there are still people online, there are only about a third of the amount at the game's peak. That doesn't mean you won't have fun, though, because the game is fun. It just means there is probably a different game you will like more. Also, a sequel has been out in Japan for a while, but it doesn't seem like the sequel is coming here to the States. Strangely enough, though, Monster Hunter Freedom has been released for the PSP, and a sequel is scheduled to be released later this year.

Pros: Lots of monsters, tons of upgradeable weapons, orchestral soundtrack, online.
Cons: Gets repetitive after a while, graphics could be better.

Review: Eric

Review: Super Mario 64 DS (DS)

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

Messing with one of the greatest games of all time? What are they crazy they? What...it's actually good? Oh, then it's ok.

As you can tell, when this game first came out I was very nervous, they could really screw up one of the greatest games of all time. After it came out it started to get positive reviews and it put my mind a bit more at ease, but I still wanted to see for myself. Now that I own the game, my mind is 100% at ease. Much like New Super Mario Bros. they managed to stick close to the original formula while still adding plenty of new stuff, so you aren't buying Super Mario 64 (which still would have sold really well.) The biggest update to this game is the graphics. They have been updated greatly and some levels even have new graphics all together. When I say the graphics have been updated, I guess I really should say they have been sharpened, because that is what really happened. As for new graphics, go to levels like Tick-Tock Clock to understand what I'm saying, but certain aspects of the game have new stuff on them....it's hard to explain. Another update is to some of the levels, they have newly added parts. While some levels are kept the same, other have newly added areas, usually pertaining to a new star. Usually these new areas are fine, however I strongly disagree with what they did to Tick-Tock Clock. They added more floor. Anyone who has played the original will know that falling from type of significant height almost always assures you death. Now its near impossible to die. To test this I randomly jumped of the edges 10 time and I only died twice.

As I hinted at before some of the stars have been changed. However, the main thing with the stars is the addition of them. In the original game there were 120 stars, now there are 150. one of the big ways that this is achieved is with the "5 silver stars" star. This is basically like the classic eight red coin missions, only with five silver stars. Along with that there many other minor changes made to the stars that only hard-core players of Super Mario 64 will notice. Believe it or not the star-changing is not the big problem that I have. The biggest problem that I have is the controls. More specifically the D-Pad. This game is meant to be played with an analog stick, end of story. Nintendo tried to fix this problem by adding the option to use the touch screen as an analog stick, and well that just doesn't work. It is way to hard to get used to and can end up costing you a lot more lifes than the D-Pad costs you (I can't tell you how many lifes it has cost me.) Other than that I really have no big problems with the game. Could the graphics be better? Maybe, but they will do just fine and there are only a few instances where you notice them being poor. In fact, I was impressed at the leap between this game and the original cartridge for the N64. The other big thing with this game was the multiple characters. This works a lot better than I thought. All the character have there own abilities that make you think before you attempt to get a star. Yoshi can to his classic quick feet movement that gives you an extra little bit on your jump and can save you in tight situations. Mario can do his wall jump. Wario is extra strong and is the only one that can break the black boxes. Finally Luigi can jump really high and do a helicopter move after a backflip so he can gently float to the ground.

This is one of the main reasons I purchased the DS as was the original with the N64. Fans of that game will love this game for it's added content and enhanced graphics as well as the multiplayer aspect, which isn't half bad. The multiplayer is basically seeing who can collect the most stars in a certain amount of time, but you can hit the stars out of other player leading to utter chaos. It's unfortunate that you can't play the mini-games as multiplayer. The mini-games are unlocked by catching rabbits throughout the game and most of them are really good and incorporate the stylus well. Enough rambling, the bottom line is this game is well worth the 30-35 dollars you will pay. Buy it.

Pros: Enhanced graphics, Multiple characters, Multiplayer, More stars, More stuff in general.
Cons: Controls, Some level/Star changes are for the worse.

Review: Dan