FullReviews Index - page 2
Fight Night Round 3 Review (Xbox)
Fight Night Round 2 was one of our favorite Xbox games of 2005 so Round 3 had some pretty high expectations to meet. Amazingly, EA has delivered a boxing experience that easily surpasses everything that Round 2 had to offer. Better gameplay and more of everything else makes Fight Night Round 3 not only the best boxing game around but one of the best Xbox games period.
EA Sports Arena Football Review
Arena Football tweaks the NFL game a bit and kicks the speed up a few notches. The real AFL is a thrill to watch since all of the rule changes – most notably the 50 yard field – makes every game a shootout where literally every play can result in a touchdown. Find out how EA's videogame version of Arena Football stacks up right here.
Winning Eleven 9 Review
Winning Eleven is back for another season on the Xbox and, as impossible as it may seem after last year’s amazing game, the best soccer game in the world actually got better. The action down on the pitch is as sharp as ever and the addition of online play makes Winning Eleven 9 an absolutely fantastic game of soccer that no sports fan should be without.
Land of the Dead: Road to Fiddler's Green Review
Land of the Dead: Road to Fiddler’s Green is a zombie-themed FPS that fans of zombie movies will absolutely love. This is just 100% pure zombie killing action that zombie fans have been waiting seemingly forever for. If you are just looking for another shooter, this isn’t for you. But if you are a die-hard fan of the living dead, you need to check this one out.
Aeon Flux Review
Aeon Flux is a movie-to-game tie-in that was crafted with an actual love and respect for the source material rather than just as a quick cash in like we see with many movie games. There are some gameplay and story issues that sour the overall experience, but fans of Aeon Flux will find a lot to like here.
True Crime: New York City Review
2003’s True Crime: Streets of LA was a decent-but-flawed take on the GTA-style of gameplay and it showed quite a bit of promise. Fast forward two years and Luxoflux and Activision have produced a new True Crime set in New York City. The game features a good story and a great digital version of Manhattan, but the graphics and gameplay are decidedly worse than in Streets of LA. Simply put, True Crime: New York City is pretty disappointing.
The Matrix: Path of Neo Review
Path of Neo is Shiny and Atari’s latest attempt at a Matrix videogame and I am happy to say the final product is a lot better than Enter the Matrix. It takes a few liberties with the storyline and it isn’t the prettiest game around, but it features fun weapons-based and hand-to-hand combat and captures the feel of the Matrix universe very well. Fans of The Matrix will absolutely love it.
Half-Life 2 Review
Half-Life 2 has made the transition from PC to Xbox mostly intact and the result is one of the best gaming experiences on the system. The game only features single player and includes none of the great multiplayer modes of the PC version, which is disappointing, but the single player campaign is among the very best you’ll ever play so it is still absolutely worth picking up.
Gun Review
Gun is a Wild West-themed action game from Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater developer Neversoft. You’ll explore a wide open world where you can be a bounty hunter, a rancher, a miner, or just hunt animals among many other things. And you’ll get to shoot a lot of bad guys. Literally hundreds and hundreds of them. The gameplay is surprisingly fun and satisfying, but there just isn’t enough of it to make Gun worth much more than a rental.
DDR Ultramix 3 Review
DDR Ultramix 3 is easily the best Ultramix game and is among the best DDR games released in the US. That is a pretty bold statement, but it is true for a number of reasons. The soundtrack is absolutely amazing, there are more modes than ever before, and casual players are actually embraced rather than shunned. If you are a DDR fan there is all of the goodness you would expect here, and if you are new to the series Ultramix 3 is a great game to start with.
Karaoke Revolution Party Review
Karaoke Revolution Party gives you the opportunity to show off not only your singing ability but your dancing skills as well. With solid gameplay, more than 50 songs, and a ton of modes, Karaoke Revolution Party is a pretty solid value. If you are playing by yourself it isn’t quite a must buy, but if you have people around to play it with it is worth every penny.
From Russia With Love Review
From Russia With Love is EA’s latest James Bond game and uses the same third-person perspective as the last good Bond game, Everything or Nothing. Rather than an original story like EoN, From Russia With Love is based on the 1963 film of the same name. Solid gameplay, nice graphics and sound, and Sean Connery himself providing the voice for Bond are the high points here, but there are a lot of little annoyances that sour the experience.
Castlevania: Curse of Darkness Review
Curse of Darkness marks the first time a Castlevania game has appeared on the Xbox. It is a 3D game and definitely isn’t as good as recent 2D entries, but as far as 3D Castlevanias go it is easily the best of the bunch. The level design is a little bland and the combat gets a bit repetitive, but overall it is pretty solid. There isn’t really a comparable experience available on Xbox and that right there makes it worth playing even if it isn’t the best the series has to offer.
Battlefield 2: Modern Combat Review
Battlefield 2: Modern Combat is a solid first-person-shooter that delivers a fun single player experience and some of the best Xbox Live play around. It isn’t as big or as polished as the PC Battlefield games, but there is a lot to like here which makes Battlefield 2 worth owning for shooter fans. Multiple classes, huge maps, vehicles –Battlefield 2 has is all covered and more.
The Sims 2 Review
The Sims 2 has finally made the jump from PC to Xbox but the results aren’t nearly as good as we would have liked. Key features of the PC version such as advanced AI and being able to have kids are missing here which makes the overall experience pretty dull. Without smart Sims reacting to all of your actions or interesting goals such as raising children, The Sims 2 is just a lot of collecting junk and going to the bathroom and not a whole lot else.
Serious Sam II Review
Serious Sam II is a no-nonsense, straight up, in your face, take no prisoners type of first-person-shooter. There is no room for epic storylines or intricately designed set pieces here, instead it is 100% pure fast paced action and mindless shooting. Honestly, it makes Doom 3 (which is pretty darn simple and linear) look like brain surgery. That isn’t a bad thing, though, because you get to shoot a lot of stuff with some really cool guns. Some days, that is exactly what you’re looking for.
Star Wars Battlefront II Review
Star Wars Battlefront is the biggest selling Star Wars game of all time, so it should be no surprise we’re getting a sequel. What is surprising, though, is just how much better Battlefront II is than the original. Every single aspect of the game has been improved and new features such as space combat and the ability to use Jedi and other hero characters just seal the deal. More planets, more vehicles, more characters, more weapons – it all adds up to be more fun.
Greg Hastings' Tournament Paintball MAX'D
Greg Hastings’ Tournament Paintball MAX’D is the follow up to last year’s sleeper hit and packs more of everything that made the first game good. More maps, more features, better presentation, sharper gameplay – this game has it all. For anyone that is interested in competition paintball or is just looking for a decent shooter, GHTP MAX’D is worth a look.
Conflict: Global Terror Review
Global Terror is the fourth game in the Conflict series and it offers many of the same thrills as its predecessors. The main difference here is that it takes you across the globe in the name of fighting terrorism rather than just focusing on Desert Storm or Vietnam like in the other games. The shooting is decent and the way you have to use your squad is actually pretty interesting, but Global Terror suffers from some AI and design flaws that seriously hinder the experience.
The Warriors Review
Based on the film of the same name, The Warriors delivers fast paced, beat-em-up action that is easy to get into but also surprisingly varied. Most brawlers are all “punch punch punch, kick kick kick” but here you have lots of ways to dish out punishment and battling multiple enemies has never been better implemented than in The Warriors. The game also does a good job of expanding on the story of the movie. It isn’t the prettiest game out there, but The Warriors is definitely a lot of fun.
Blitz: The League Review
Blitz: The League was designed from the ground up to be a slap in the face to the NFL and EA for letting the Madden franchise run away with the exclusive NFL license. It seems to me, then, that if you want to beat Madden you should at least have as good of a football game as Madden. That doesn’t happen in Blitz, and the football game that is hidden underneath all of the profanity, steroids, violence, and dancing cheerleaders is shallow and really isn’t all that fun.
Tony Hawk's American Wasteland Review
The Tony Hawk games have been on a downward trend ever since THUG came out. They aren’t bad, not by any means, but THUG 1 and 2 and now Tony Hawk’s American Wasteland definitely lack that magic that the four Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater titles had. The gameplay in THAW is just as good as it always has been, but the new levels are only so-so and the story mode is pretty much terrible. Xbox Live play makes the game worth checking out, but the overall package could have been better.
Stubbs the Zombie in Rebel Without a Pulse Review
Stubbs the Zombie is like a dream game for zombie fans. We finally get the chance to play as a zombie and eat brains, tear people in half, and beat people to death with their own arm. If any part of that sentence was appealing to you, you should go buy Stubbs the Zombie right now. If you aren’t a zombie fan, though, there isn’t anything new or terribly exciting going on here. Just some good old fashioned horror/comedy that zombie lovers will love to love.
Cold War Review
Cold War is a stealth/espionage game that adds in new elements such as a gadget creation system in addition to the typical sneaking around and shooting enemies in the back of the head you usually find in stealth games. There are a lot of good ideas here but the execution leaves quite a bit to be desired, particularly when you compare it to other entries in the genre such as Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory. For just $20, though, Cold War might still be worth checking out.
SSX On Tour Review
SSX On Tour is the fourth game in EA’s snowboarding series and it is arguably the best of the bunch. The level designs are better, the controls are tighter, the sense of speed is better, and the overall presentation is very, very slick. There isn’t any online play, which is disappointing, but what is here is pretty darn good and there is more than enough to keep you busy for days. SSX On Tour is definitely worth picking up.