Holiday Video Game Round Up
Yes, one of the greatest gaming seasons is now coming to a close. Yeah, it went past pretty fast :P. Today's post will be about some of the many great games that came out this season.
However, before I begin, I would like to point out something very...disappointing. For this whole season, I did not find many interesting RPGs being released, whether it be for internet play or solo. It's been all silent on the RPG genre for a while, but hopefully the early-mid '05 release of FFXII will change all of that, and I'm sure many of us have our hopes up, especially after, what some of us agree as, the disappointment which FFXI was. Although it was pretty good, it wasn't the best. Then again it was a first for FF, stepping in to the MMORPG world, so we can't expect a one-hit wonder.
Anyway, back to this season. I'm sure many of you are rushing through this post so you can get back to your gaming, so I'll try to be short and sweet.
First I shall start with the best of the genres, and next, I will narrow it down to the best of the systems.
Action Department:
Game: Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
Console: PS2 (Also coming soon to PC + X-box)
Review: Grand Theft Auto was hands down the best of the best. A larger enviornment, the ability to respond to pedestrians, the ability to ride everything, from planes to boats, from motorcycles to bikes, and of course, it couldn’t be called Grand Theft AUTO without cars. NOT only that, but there are hundreds of things to do on your spare time. You can enter arcades and actually play classic arcade games, gun stores to train your accuracy, casinos where you can actually gamble, bars where you can play pool, swimming pools you can actually swim in, and clubs you can really dance on. If I would describe this game in a one word quote, it would be from the movie, Braveheart. “Frrreeeeedddddooooommmmm!!!”
Racing Department:
Game: Need For Speed: Underground 2
Console: Multi
Review: Meh, NFS:U2 has literally NO CONTEST in the racing department AT ALL, so I won’t have to waste my time reviewing it. Everyone with common sense would get NFS:U2 if they wanted a racing game, we all know that.
Shooter:
Game: Halo 2
Console: X-box
Review: Sorry, Metroid Prime 2, and Doom 3, but Halo 2 has kicked the dust on your face. There was a LARGE influx of shooters this season, very good ones, but Halo 2 still stands out as the best. Halo 2 will be crowned as the best holiday shooter as it’s predecessor was.
Flight Simulation:
Game: Ace Combat 5
Console: PS2
Review: Are you sure this isn’t Squarenix? I swear man, Ace Combat 5’s storyline blew me away, it was quite unpredictable. When it comes to storyline, Ace Combat 5 is the Final Fantasy of it’s type :p. Replayability is quite interesting too, that is, if you like planes. If not I suggest rental. If you are a hardcore fan of avionics, I suggest you get the bundle pack WITH the flight stick, which is about $120.00, I believe. Of course, $5.00 would be well spent for rental of this game.
General Simulation:
Game: The Sims 2
Console: PC
Review: The Halo 2 of it’s class, plain and simple. With OVERWHELMING changes in graphics and gameplay, TS2 is one giant leap for the simulation world. It also presents the new type of sitcom, the machinima. Shooting movies using the video games engine and making tweaks and adding your beautiful voices by using even a normal video editor could make a great piece, something rivaling that of movies on the old days :P
Real Time Strategy:
Game: Lord of the Rings: Battle for Middle Earth
Console: PC
Review: “WTF?! What happened to command and -”
They [EA] killed it -_-
You won’t be seeing Command and Conquer for a looong time, guys, especially after most Westwood workers now work for EA. Actually, most of those who worked on the C&C Series worked on LOTR: B4ME, and even though it’s an EA RTS, we still can’t bash it to death. As for Warcraft, it’s met it’s match :P. LOTR: B4ME, coming out tomorrow I believe, looks quite interesting. Not even reviewing it much so far, I still believe that LOTR: B4ME will make a great RTS.
I reviewed 3 months of gaming into 1 single post, damn I’m good. Happy shopping this holiday season, gamers.
‘Fin
However, before I begin, I would like to point out something very...disappointing. For this whole season, I did not find many interesting RPGs being released, whether it be for internet play or solo. It's been all silent on the RPG genre for a while, but hopefully the early-mid '05 release of FFXII will change all of that, and I'm sure many of us have our hopes up, especially after, what some of us agree as, the disappointment which FFXI was. Although it was pretty good, it wasn't the best. Then again it was a first for FF, stepping in to the MMORPG world, so we can't expect a one-hit wonder.
Anyway, back to this season. I'm sure many of you are rushing through this post so you can get back to your gaming, so I'll try to be short and sweet.
First I shall start with the best of the genres, and next, I will narrow it down to the best of the systems.
Action Department:
Game: Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
Console: PS2 (Also coming soon to PC + X-box)
Review: Grand Theft Auto was hands down the best of the best. A larger enviornment, the ability to respond to pedestrians, the ability to ride everything, from planes to boats, from motorcycles to bikes, and of course, it couldn’t be called Grand Theft AUTO without cars. NOT only that, but there are hundreds of things to do on your spare time. You can enter arcades and actually play classic arcade games, gun stores to train your accuracy, casinos where you can actually gamble, bars where you can play pool, swimming pools you can actually swim in, and clubs you can really dance on. If I would describe this game in a one word quote, it would be from the movie, Braveheart. “Frrreeeeedddddooooommmmm!!!”
Racing Department:
Game: Need For Speed: Underground 2
Console: Multi
Review: Meh, NFS:U2 has literally NO CONTEST in the racing department AT ALL, so I won’t have to waste my time reviewing it. Everyone with common sense would get NFS:U2 if they wanted a racing game, we all know that.
Shooter:
Game: Halo 2
Console: X-box
Review: Sorry, Metroid Prime 2, and Doom 3, but Halo 2 has kicked the dust on your face. There was a LARGE influx of shooters this season, very good ones, but Halo 2 still stands out as the best. Halo 2 will be crowned as the best holiday shooter as it’s predecessor was.
Flight Simulation:
Game: Ace Combat 5
Console: PS2
Review: Are you sure this isn’t Squarenix? I swear man, Ace Combat 5’s storyline blew me away, it was quite unpredictable. When it comes to storyline, Ace Combat 5 is the Final Fantasy of it’s type :p. Replayability is quite interesting too, that is, if you like planes. If not I suggest rental. If you are a hardcore fan of avionics, I suggest you get the bundle pack WITH the flight stick, which is about $120.00, I believe. Of course, $5.00 would be well spent for rental of this game.
General Simulation:
Game: The Sims 2
Console: PC
Review: The Halo 2 of it’s class, plain and simple. With OVERWHELMING changes in graphics and gameplay, TS2 is one giant leap for the simulation world. It also presents the new type of sitcom, the machinima. Shooting movies using the video games engine and making tweaks and adding your beautiful voices by using even a normal video editor could make a great piece, something rivaling that of movies on the old days :P
Real Time Strategy:
Game: Lord of the Rings: Battle for Middle Earth
Console: PC
Review: “WTF?! What happened to command and -”
They [EA] killed it -_-
You won’t be seeing Command and Conquer for a looong time, guys, especially after most Westwood workers now work for EA. Actually, most of those who worked on the C&C Series worked on LOTR: B4ME, and even though it’s an EA RTS, we still can’t bash it to death. As for Warcraft, it’s met it’s match :P. LOTR: B4ME, coming out tomorrow I believe, looks quite interesting. Not even reviewing it much so far, I still believe that LOTR: B4ME will make a great RTS.
I reviewed 3 months of gaming into 1 single post, damn I’m good. Happy shopping this holiday season, gamers.
‘Fin
posted by Duke @ 12/06/2004 07:38:00 PM
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