Music Reviews

NCAA football 2004 was one of the most anticipated games of 2003, however there's not a whole lot to get excited about with the newest version of the football franchise.The gameplay is almost identical to the 2003 edition and the dynasty mode is pretty much untouched. With lack of good sports titles available for the Gamecube, EA is the only company really that sports fans can turn to if you own the cube. If you have 2003's edition, there really is no reason to go out of your way to obtain the 2004 version. While there is some improvements, including fan reaction to the game, its really just 2003 with a new cover. A Rental at best.

I'm sitting here at work writing this review because I'm suffering seperation anxiety! My new found love is sitting at home, alone, and I can hear her calling too me! I have a few warnings about buying this game. Your favorite team's fight song will repeat in your head 24-7 (especially when you can't be playing). You will convince yourself you're qualified to coach a Division 1A school after finishing your second season. Finally, you will find it necessary to describe, in detail, to uninterested friends, family and co-workers your nail-biting upset victory against your most hated rival. The Dynasty Mode is insanely detailed. The game play is slightly improved over last year's release (and in my opinion more realistic than Madden). Most improved the feel of "televised" games. If you take the time to name your entire roster (which should be a necessity) the announcers will say their names (atleast those that would be considered common last names, it's way more than you can believe). In closing, if you just like football, this title triumphs over Madden (and that's saying something) and even if you need an NFL fix it is worth adding this title to your collection.

If you liked the sega version of NCAA football rent EA sports NCAA 04 and I bet you throw the sega version away. THis realistic fast pace game is remarkable. I have played NCAA games since the first Bill Walsh college football game when I was in JR High and EA sports has continued to get better every year. If you want a College Football game this should be the only one to consider. 10 stars if I could give them.

Being an american gamer I heard of arc the lad because of the anime movies I knew it was a game but had no idea about the game play so when working desgins announced a remake of these 3 classics in one package I got excited for 69.99 you get 3 games and side battle game and a making of cd and an box of extras kinda like the lunar series some of you might know. now on to game play this is a statagy rpg no ramdom battles you move across a landscape despensing of your enamies each charaters have thair strenghts and weaknesses your usuall the healer, magic caster, you summoner, your hero, you muscle ect. arc the lad is a short but sweet arc 2 is where the fun is i recomend to start at the beginning but arc 2 is the best it a very long game arc 3 graphic are better but not as good a 2 also part 2 has that extra battle cd to collect extra items and exp. points also if your friend has arc 2 you can battle each other but you must each have your own saved data on your memory card. arc has dated graphics but who buys a rpg for graphics plus this game is at least 6 years old. if you love rpgs or stratagy game you will love arc its a must have for any rpgers libray and will be a classic.

Let us get this out of the way first, Arc the Lad is not Final Fantasy. It hasn't the graphical beauty, the story ambition (though its parts have great ones), or unique design elements meant to push the rpg genre to new heights. Reasons for this are obvious: Arc the Lad 1&2 were much before the flash of FF, so comparable graphics shouldn't be expected. Arc 3 was release after FF 7 and 8, but didn't seek lofty ambition.

Basically its about this, FUN. That's the word of the day people, so listen close. Arc the Lad is a strategized, character developed, story driven (at least the first two), job hunting, monster bashing good time.

That's right, I said STRATEGIZED, meaning like a grid-based strategy game. Think Final Fantasy Tactics with less depth, and that's pretty much it. That lack of depth gives this game a much more user-friendly feel, allowing for pick-up-and-play action instead of read-the-manual-5-times-and-still-get-the-[snot]-kicked-out-of-you-action.

Arc the Lad's play mechanics are like a strategy/traditional rpg hybrid, combining the character control and exploration of a traditional (Arc 2, mostly) with grid-combat intensive battles (what Arc 1 is pretty much, with only two chances throughout to control the character like previously stated). All three include this extremely unique mix of both elements, happily dishing steaming helpings of fun.

Arc 1 is the one mainly lacking in depth, it hasn't much but offers a very simplistic and perfectly enjoyable time.

Arc 2 continues 1's abrupt stoppage with a much more fleshed out story (not the single-minded save the world story of 1) featuring characters expertly developed that show many more emotional facets (like an opal compared to a marquis-cut diamond, both are beautiful, but the diamond has more to look at).

Arc 3 takes place 10 years later, thrusting upon the player new characters with mere cameos of previous protaganists. Though this can be a bit saddening, Arc 3 is a great game in its own right--continuing that extremely enjoyable battle system that was the draw of the 2 previous.

The story, as expected, is excellent. Much of this is due to Working Designs' attention to detail; through that, a beautiful creature was created. It's fun and easy to read while providing comic relief to the melodrama (yeah, there is quite a bit of it in Arc 2, unfortunately). The melodrama is pretty jarring, but it fits into the story alright and isn't any reason to not play.

This is your game if you have always enjoyed those grid-based strategy niche titles, but want a traditional flair. You won't be disappointed.

Arc the Lad 1-3 was originally released by Sony. Arc 1 was released when the PS One first came out, in 1996/1997. About a year later, Arc 2 came out, then Arc 3 followed in 1999. The problem? They were never released out of Japan. Luckily, Working Designs, the company responsible for bringing out Lunar and Lunar 2 with great extras, has brought all 3 of these games out of Japan, with great packaging like the Lunar series.

Arc 1 is pretty short. You could finish it in about 10-15 hours (20+ if you do all the side quests), but it's still a lot of fun. Arc 2 continues the great story, and is a whole lot longer. You could spend anywhere from 50-100 hours on Arc 2. And finally, Arc 3. They took the job system from Arc 2 and made it the main part of Arc 3. Although not as serious, and more lighthearted, than the other games in the series, Arc 3 is still pretty fun. My favorite is Arc 2, then 1, and finally 3, but they all provide hours of fun and entertainment.

Also included is Arc Arena, which allows you to fight other monsters with monsters you capture in Arc 2. This was kind of fun, but I didn't really get into it.

The packaging comes with a hardcover instruction booklet (over 100 pages), a memory card holder, a "Making of Arc the Lad Collection" cd, and more. If you're a fan of strategy/rpg's, don't miss out!

This game is very fun for the military-minded person. The graphics are amazing, and give you a sense that youre in the ruined buildings in Urban cites in other countries. The missions are slow, and each moves has to be planned. You cant jump in because you'll hear a scream and watch your operative get hit by a sniper's bullet. The game all-in all has a very great story. I played this game on a...in total..20+ hour trip back and forth and it has entertained me 2000+ feet in the air :)

If you like guns, the military, or strategic combat, this is the game for you. No music obviously, a clancy game, but a fun game once you master it and get past the first level. The controls are AMAZING and its just amazing how quick the button combos are and how eaisly you can stage complex assaults. Try this: blow down a door with a shotgun with guy, throw a flashbang with another, and move in to clear the room all under seconds with a total of 5 buttons on a screen few inches large? Thats a work of art.

For all you Third Person Shooter fans out there BUY THIS GAME! It has good graphics a nice soundtrack(its from the iMac version)and you can play multiplayer which is pretty cool.Anywho, u NEED a Game Boy Advance Rogue Spear is a MUST buy. Buy it,good for you...REMEMBER BUY THIS GAME AND YOU WILL BE HAPPY FOR LIFE(i hope)!!!! Caveat Emptor, you might not be as hardcore a fan as me of the Rainbow 6 series.

Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six, and its sequel Rogue Spear, have been put onto several game systems, N64, Playstation, Dreamcast, PS 2, and now GBA. It's hard to believe that such a complicated game can be so wonderfully translated to the GBA. The game is brillant. Though the controls are complex due to a lack of buttons on the GBA, you can adjust to them in time and start playing like a pro. You have full control over every aspect of your mission. From the guns, armor, secondary weapons, and your team members, you're given everything you need to complete the numerous covert ops of this game. On top of this, there's the incredible multi-player features of this game. Three people can work cooperatively to complete missions. The graphics are exceptional, allowing you to see most every detail of the environments. The sound is a key feature of this game. Being able to hear the footsteps of your enemies, helps you greatly in this game. It's very seldom occured where a GBA port of an already great game turns out like this. This is by far one of the better games for the GBA to date.

If you want a challenging game where you get stuck all the time, being bored of a game because you can't find the hearts, and a game that goes absoulutely nowhere, then this will be the game for you. It has a bad story line, and it's just a plain bad game, so if you like bad games buy this!!!!!

I love platform games because I have young kids. Can't play blood and gore types like Dead To Rights while they're around. I got caught up in the hype for Vexx, and while it's lack of comparable titles on Xbox make it attractive, I have been underwhelmed with the game. Anyone who has played Ratchet & clank or Jak & Daxter on the PS2 will have trouble being impressed with Vexx.

Not that Vexx is a waste of money; it is entertaining, but it could be so much better. While the environments are beautiful, they are not detailed. I don't mean like color variations in the rocks, I mean like all the little plants, trash or whatever that would dot a landscape. My other major problem with Vexx is its lack of coherent structure. While free-roam is fun, structure is also neccessary to create an enveloping game. Vexx just feels like a random collection of mini games thrown into an environment full of collectibles.

I don't regret the purchase, and anyone who enjoys platformers will enjoy playing the game. The bottom line, though - there are much better titles out there. (The underappreciated Dr. Muto for example.)

I end with a plea to Xbox developers: give me something Ratchet & Clank quality in the platform genre.

I was surprised at how much I liked this game. The demo I played really kept drawing me back to it and now I'm glad that I went ahead and bought this.
Normally, I am not a fan of platformer type games (like Mario and Sonic), but the fighting and special moves and the story have all sort of immersed me like no other platformer was ever able to.
The action is fast, the animation and graphics are very smooth and easy to learn.
I would complain that the camera angles aren't always very helpful... even though you can control the camera it won't let you turn it certain ways which is really a hinderance to the gameplay, but I have managed to adjust.
As far as this type of game goes, I enjoy this one quite a bit. I highly reccomend this for any Xbox owners looking for an entertaining platformer (you're certainly not going to find it in Oddworld or Blinx, take my word for it).

OK. So i just played it for like a half hour. But it was one of the most boring half hours of my life! And I'm not big on creepy games like this. As you can probobly tell, it's about some alien creature that's a slave in a factory called ReptuFarms or something. The factory makes meat out of animals. Most animals in Oddworld (the would where Abe, the mane charecter lives) are extinced. I won't tell you any more of the plot. I will now tell you why i don't like it. As I mentioned earlier, I'm not big on creepy games. If you are, I guess you might like it. But it's not even 3D! It's just a 2D game where all you do is walk left and right. And the controlls are REALLY hard to remember! But, if these things don't bother you, i guess you might like it, though it's kind of old stile gaming. Well, thanks for reading. Bye!

I remember hearing about the Oddworld series when it first came out, and from what I heard a lot of people seemed to like it. But I didn't really think about it too much, however a couple days ago I got this game as a gift. I have to say, this is definitely one of the most innovative games out there. To me it's like a cross between Metal Gear Solid (because of the sneaking around) and Earthworm Jim (because of the weirdness). The story is amusing yet original, and it's interesting how things turn out for Abe (the main character) throughout the game. I won't get into any details about the story, don't want to spoil anything. The control is superb, as well is the music and the overall sound. The gameplay and graphics however, are the true highlights of this game. In the game, Abe is able to use weapons, sort of. However he doesn't have one throughout the game, the only way he can get them is through grenade machines (which only pump out one grenade at a time) or if he possesses a mind of a Slig, which are the only enemies that have guns. You are able to possess their minds through a kind of ritual chanting, you can control them however you want. You are also able to talk to fellow Mudokans (a tribe that Abe is from) that you have to save, and that's the whole point of the game is to save them but you have to be very sneaky to do it. Trust me it's not as easy as it sounds. What's cool is Abe doesn't just die, he regenerates. The problem is sometimes he regenerates at places you had the most trouble with, and you have to go all through it again. The graphics are some of the best I have seen on the Playstation console, the FMV's are flawless, no grainy pictures whatsoever. When you are controlling Abe, the environment is 2-D, but even then the graphics are still awesome and have a slight 3-D element. When you go into lifts and such, the game will change to 3-D, especially when you're in the bucket-like lifts or whatever. The only complaint I have about this game is it's EXTREMELY challenging, this game might seem suitable for little kids but trust me it's too hard for them. The person who said this game is too easy is lying, the guy never beat the game because this game is NOT EASY! There are difficult puzzles such as leading the Mudokans to safe portals and controlling enemies to your advantage. This game only has four types of enemies (scrabs, paramites, sligs, and slogs) but they're still a pain in the neck. The puzzles require perfect timing, constantly. This game is not forgiving at all and neither were the people who made it. It requires an excellent amount of patience, which I happen to have very little of. Either way, anyone who loves challenging (not to mention frustrating) games will definitely love this one. Regardless of the frustration factor, I highly recommend this game to any video gamer.

This game requires skill, luck and intelligence to solve all the puzzles in the game. It's a good thing to have infinite lives, but it's annoying to start over and over when you die. I highly reccomend this game to anyone who likes a challenge every now and then.

I was a bit surprised that this entire game is about killing off or kicking/zapping etc. other people. Naive... I thought/hoped it would be Kim going through mazes, Rufus hunting for lost treasures... Call me a prude but everytime my daughter puts this in, I cringe a bit knowing it's violent to the nth degree... not exactly wholesome, although she does love it, finds it a challenge- I told her the first karate chop I see from her, it's outta here. She still has it, still loves it- glad she can play without copying the behavior! :-)

When I got this game, it was great, but it was too easy for me. I beat in a day. Besides that it gets annoying when you have to write down the passwords, I like everything about it.

This is a really great game for a really great cartoon. In Kim Possible Revenge of Monkey Fist you take on the role as Kim and go on eight different missions to find Ron stoppable. The graphics were amazing and the sound was great, also. After some of the levels you get a little clip from one of the Kim Possible episodes. This isn't as good as it could have been. The clips were only like 2 seconds long and the picture and sound quality wasn't as great as it could have been. In addition to the movie clips you get magazine covers with Kim on the front. I do have one little tip, DON'T LOSE THE INSTRUCTION BOOKLET. This came in handy with me when Wade told me about a new move and he didn't tell me how to do it. So this was a great game. A must have for any Kim Possible fan!!!!!!!

What can be said about the Grand Theft Auto series? That hasn't been said before. Well, not a heck of a lot.

First of all, this is one of the best deals to come along in a long time. These games alone are the reason to own a PS2, and provide some of the longest gameplay sessions in recent memory. Let's break it down.

GTA III:
The story of a nameless street thug who becomes a wheelman for the mob. Set in the dar and stormy (and ironically named) Liberty City, you will do everything from boost cars to deliver "goods" to whack people in your journey through this dark world of crime and punishment. While it seems simple, this isn't just a game. It's an experience.

With GTA III, Rockstar Games gave people a giant, shiny, macabre, funny toy to play with. There's a whole world in here, and it's ripe for the picking. Hookers, gangsters, cops, robbers, grease monkeys, and innocent pedestrians; all are there to populate and color this world. This is a crime simulator, and crime most certainly DOES pay here. It's also damn fun.

GTA - Vice City

Rather than offering an upgrade to the blockbuster GTA III, Rockstar crafted an acid-washed, neon-soaked, 80's gangster epic with equal parts Scarface and Miami Vice thrown into the mix that was created for the previous game. Tommy Vercetti, a jailed man just freed, is set up by the mobs of Vice City, and now is in a fight for survival, and control.

Take the free-roaming gameplay of GTA III, add more vehicles, more city, more people, smarter AI, more weapons, and a whole lotta hair metal, and you'd be close to getting a bead on Vice City. This 80's inspired masterpiece of gameplay, story, and style stands as a hallmark of the series, and of action games everywhere. You'll not only turn wheelman, but you'll buy property, earn money from the city's drug trade, get yourself a mansion, and even some minions - I mean, comrades in arms.

What was good in GTA III is better, slicker, prettier, faster, and funnier in Vice City. It's a brave new world. It's up to the gamer to make the most of it.

It's funny really. There were two games in the series previous to the megahit that was GTA III, and yet, despite that these are the same concept, gameplay, and focus that the sequels expand on, it was only with the realease of the more realistic 3D games that all the noise was made about more violence in vidya games being bad for youth.

Realism can be dangerous, but the claim that violent games make violent people is unfounded and lunatic. There is a fundamental difference between the digital and the real, and it's up to parents to make sure that children understand where the line is.

Besides, that's what the rating system is for. "M" games are NOT for kids, any more than "R" rated movies are. Amazing how logic can be so easily sidestepped in the name of moral outrage.

In either case, these are gems not to be passed up. Bargain price, classic gameplay, great stories, and the most replayability this side of. . .well, anything really. There's more than enough violence and mayhem for anyone to really enjoy living on the wrong side of the law. Just remember, save before you quit.

You have a PS2, but you don't have the game that pushes your system to it's limits, will suck weeks from your social life, and is the most fun ever? Well, now you can fix all that. If you never bought GTA3 or VICE then this is your chance. What really makes both of these games great are:

- Open ended: go where ever you want, do whatever you want. In this way it's more like a toy that you can play with and make up your own goals.
- Great graphics: Vice City is esp nice, with shine off cars in the morning to reflections on the rain soaked road. And making that perfect jump in slo-mo is sweet.
- Music: The radio stations are great. And the talk shows and NPR parodies are awsome.
- Never ending: there are so many missions and things to find and do you'll never finish this game. But, this gives it a shelf life beyond the system you're playing it on.
- Gameplay: it's perfect. No hard button combos to memorize, but still very functional.

Also, if you ever owned a Commodore 64 then you HAVE to see the startup screen for Vice City :-)) As others have said, this is not a kids game, it is for mature teens and up. It has a rating, use it.

HINT: To steal a cop car, try to open the passenger side door. When the cop jumps out to nab you, try the door again and it's yours. Also, search the net for cheats, these are fun. But don't save your game with some cheats, it could make it unbeatable.

Just for fun: Play tag with the cop cars. Or, stand on top of a truck and toss grenades into traffic without falling off.

These games are the best! I have them and i play them all the time! Even if u beat the whole game, u can still play for fun, by killing people.

This is by far the best game based on any of Tolkiens work I have ever played including The Fellowship of the Ring for PS2/Xbox and the two games based off the movies. This isn't much of a fighting game like the others although it does have its fair share of battles. If you like fights and battles get the movie based games, if you're a Tolkien fan (like me) and want a good game based off the books, this is it. It follows the book chapter by chapter and does a great job of it. Each chapter, for the most part, last about 2 hours each (11 Chapters) so it's a good size game unlike FOTR which was like 5 hours long.

There are a number of quests throughout each chapter most of which are optional but if you do them you will be rewarded with lots of Courage Points which appear in the game as jewels. The more jewewls you collect, the higher your life meter goes giving you more of an edge for later levels. The fun stuff I think isn't really doing the quests cause there's not much to most of em, but trying to find ALL the Jewels and Silver Pennies (your currency) in the level. Most are hidden up high somewhere and require some thinking on how to get them. The farther you are in the game the more difficult and fun these puzzle become. Another cool thing in the game is the treasure chests. Instead of most games where you just walk up and open em, here you either need a skeleton key or you can just pick it by completeing a couple of small puzzles before the time runs out. Then at the end of each level you can buy supplies with the pennies you found.

The graphics in the game are great. Everything is nicely animated and the voices are pretty good. Its cool cause sometimes you can climb up way up high and look back and see the whole valley down below where you just came from. No flat backdrobs or anything like that. The music is great and goes nicely with the game. Another great thing is that, again, it follows the book almost exact (adding on some to give you something to do, for example in Lake Town, you have to investigat some strange things going on and get back Barons (sp?) Black Arrow that was stolen). It is very detailed as well as to whats described in the book. For ex., on Flies and Spiders, you eventually climb to the tops of the trees and see thousands of butterflies before sliding down a hollow tree down into the spiders lair.

If you're a Tolkien fan and like puzzle solving, then this is your game. Its awsome. For those who want a hack and slash game, go ahead and try it out but I warn you, many of the later levels have almost no fighting at all and require you to use your ring and stealth to sneak around and go and solve many puzzles.

Tip: Save the game at the begining of every level in one file and then save throughout the level in another file. This is because near the end in Smaugs chambers, there is block that you can push off the edge that is NOT supposed to fall off. If you dont know what you're doing and save after doing this, you will have to start the game all over because you wont beable to complete the level. Just dont try pushing the blocks off and you'll be fine. (I learned from experience :( )

I bought this game last (11/12/03) night, and I have to say it's really good. I'm a huge fan of Tolkien's work, and this game is a tribute to his book. The cinematic sequences are fantastic, the in-game graphics are superb, and the game play is loads of fun. The music is great (it doesn't sound repetitive like other games), and the voice acting is spot on. I've been waiting for months for this title to be released and I wasn't disappointed. This game is a "must have" for any Tolkien fan.

This game is played, sort of as a zelda game, but it's a little less free-range as it is played through with Chapters. It's a very good game, definitely worth the buy, but some of the Chapters can be very, very long, particularly "Over Hill and Under Hill". but I'd say it's worth the buy

It sure seems like it's been a long time coming, but now that Mat Hoffman's Pro BMX 2 has finally touched down, was it worth the wait? You bet. Mat Hoffman's Pro BMX 2 is to the original game what Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2 was to its predecessor-a whole heck of a lot more gameplay shows up the second time around. Once again, you'll bust out flips, manuals, stalls, grinds, and dozens of other BMX tricks on a road trip around eight U.S. cities. Each level is packed with tons of secret areas, icons, and other goodies; there's also a park editor and eight multiplayer games to extend your ride even further. The character animation is extremely fluid, and there are some nice Las Vegas lighting effects-this is a very pretty game overall. The crisp sound effects are sparse (a few voices here and there, plus the ubiquitous spinning spokes), but the eclectic soundtrack more than makes up for it-Iggy Pop, L.L. Cool J, NERD, and Suicidal Tendencies all in the same place! Whip-smart controls make execution of the dozens of tricks easy, especially if you're a series vet; you can also modify grind and stall tricks now. With any of Activision's O2 games, you kind of know what you're going to get, and that's comfortable. Same here-Mat Hoffman's Pro BMX 2 offers no major surprises but plenty of refinements to a proven formula. It's a major improvement over the first game.

It alright, but i think Dave Mirra 2 better in many ways. BTW why are their so many reviews by people who hav'nt played the game?

I previewed some of the screenshots for this game and they look very realistic. I gave this game 5 stars due to the first "Mat Hoffman's Pro BMX" which was also a great game. The only thing that upsets me is that it doesn't come out on PS2 untill March 29, 2002 otherwise this game is a must buy.

I really loved playing this game. It's your basic Pac-Man run around and collect little pellets and dodge all the gosts, except some really cool scenery and quite a few new twists, including rolling boulders, killer snakes, mine carts, seesaws, and multi-level and sideways mazes. And more. Oh yeah, and don't forget Pac-Man is traveling through time. From cavemen ghosts to high-tech scientist ghosts from the future, Pac-Man has a lot to deal with. Adventures in Time includes room for six players to save (each player can have three saved games), multi player games, cool short videos showing the super-cute Pac-Man, sub-levels which let you earn extra points, and over 45 3D caveman, acient egyptian, medieval, wild west, and future mazes. I don't mean to sound like an add, but this is a really cool game. Oh yeah, and if you buy it, here's a tip: don't use your lives unless you absolutely can't get past a level without. :)

As a kid of the 80s, I lived and breathed Pac-Man. I couldn't get enough of the pellet chomping and ghost devouring. This 21st century version of Pac-Man is a spectacular adaptation of a game that never goes out of style.

For starters, the graphics are outstanding. The game's open is one of the few game opens I truly enjoy watching. While one of the basic objectives of the game is to avoid the ghosts, there are also other distractions to avoid like alligators, boulders, and snakes, all of which make the game that much more challenging. The mazes are superbly designed. The first maze caught my eye since the layout is the same as the first maze on the original Pac-Man. The bonus rounds, like a river run and a variation of Concentration, are a change of pace but they do not take away from the overall enjoyment of the game. In short, Pac-Man: Adventures in Time is a definite must get game.

This is one of the hardest computer games I've ever played! I only know one person who beat all 30 or so levels. I would recomend this game to any one who is looking for a challenge!