Before development even started on BLACK, the team at Criterion came to the conclusion that they were going to mimic the most blast-happy Hollywood blockbusters with their new first-person shooter. By all accounts, they've succeeded in that goal. BLACK has big guns and bigger explosions. Loud booms and louder firefights. Lifeless enemies whose bodies fly a dozen feet in the air and bad guys who careen from catwalks with all the grace of a professional stuntman. But a funny thing happened on the way to their blockbuster: … [Read more...]
Battlefield 2: Modern Combat
The Battlefield franchise's first venture onto consoles came last fall with Modern Combat (review), a title in which the gameplay was as impressive as it was innovative. Not wanting to break a winning formula, EA is about to release Battlefield 2: Modern Combat for the Xbox 360, and it's not changing all that much from the core of the current-gen version. But what it is changing makes the game even better. Naturally you'd expect the graphics to take a big leap forward, and that they do. Although the screens that … [Read more...]
Pursuit Force
There's a school of thought among videogame developers, one of which being Bungie, that believes the secret to creating an enjoyable game is identifying five minutes of intense, fun gameplay and re-creating it over and over and over again in slightly different surroundings. Doing so, according to these developers, ensures that the game will include lots of classic moments and, if all goes right, become an instant classic. But what happens when that formula goes wrong? Enter Pursuit Force, a new racing/chasing game for … [Read more...]
Ape Escape Academy
What is it about monkeys that makes people crazy? From Super Bowl ads to Hollywood movies to handheld and console videogames, monkeys and their outrageous hijinks never make for bad entertainment. Well, almost never. You see, the new PSP game Ape Escape Academy does darn near everything it can to debunk that theory for good. The basic premise of Ape Escape Academy is for players to hop into the diaper of an ape in training. Through a series of college-like "courses," players learn how to protect bananas, smack other … [Read more...]
Star Wars: Empire at War
A couple of years back, LucasArts made a promise to itself (and to gamers) that it would reaffirm its commitment to quality over quantity. Upon the release of Episode I, the market was flooded with far too many Star Wars games and products, none of which was given enough time in development to really knock people's socks off as a mind-boggling experience. Star Wars Republic Commando was the first such game to come out of this reaffirmation process, and although it didn't get the credit it deserved, it turned out to be a … [Read more...]
Daxter
One of the PlayStation 2's dynamic duos, Jak and Daxter, has been an inseparable combination for several years, but even in the world of videogames, all good things must come to an end. Fortunately, with the forthcoming PSP game Daxter, the creativity behind the series still appears to have some life in it. Daxter for the PSP is the first game to feature Jak's sidekick as its solitary star, but it fits into the combined story of the characters by serving as the prequel to Jak II. In the game, players will see how Jak's … [Read more...]
BLACK
When the producer of a first-person shooter starts saying the genre is "getting stale, dry and boring, and nothing [is] exciting," it makes one wonder what's coming next. Was the producer including his own game in the mix? Was he throwing down the gauntlet for all other FPS developers, some of whom have made a living by tweaking the genre? Either way, such a statement is bound to cause waves. Especially if it's coming from a developer that's never created a first-person shooter. Known best for its Burnout racing games, … [Read more...]
Full Auto
If the Xbox 1 was the home of the first-person shooter, the Xbox 360 is, for the time being, the home of the racer. Whether you're into Project Gotham Racing 3, Ridge Racer 6 or Need for Speed Most Wanted, it seems Microsoft's next-gen console has you covered. Well, almost. Burnout: Revenge is on the way in a little more than a month, and if that isn't quite destructive enough for you, SEGA last week released Full Auto, an innovative racing game in which the cars have hood- and trunk-mounted weapons. As overused as the … [Read more...]
Tortuga: Two Treasures
It's basically an unwritten rule that three types of character will never not be cool: zombies, ninjas and pirates. Hollywood has certainly paid attention, with dozens of films starring these types of characters, and the videogame industry has taken note as well. But pirates have become the topic du jour in gaming circles, a trend that CDV Software will continue in May when it releases Tortuga: Two Treasures for the PC. Building on popular games like Sid Meier's Pirates, Tortuga: Two Treasures features a strong … [Read more...]
Syphon Filter: Dark Mirror
After playing a recent preview build of Syphon Filter: Dark Mirror for the PSP, I must say that the game holds a lot of promise for fans of the stealth-action genre, regardless of the fact that it's appearing on a handheld system. Not only does Dark Mirror feature a single-player campaign with 28 missions, putting most of the console-based stealth games to shame, but it also has online multiplayer action. Add some bonus unlockables, and there's a whole lot of Syphon Filter to look forward to on the PSP. The multiplayer … [Read more...]