Music Reviews

Okay people,listen up.Xbox is a good system and all,and has a built in memory saver(whataever its called)think of the size and memory.The things like a MONSTER.It takes up alot of room.And the memory on it is not portable ! So that does not allow you to take it to your friends house.

XBOX REVIEW

I own both XBOX and PS2 and I think Xbox is better. PS2 wastes my time because its gone in to the world of disk read heaven. Xbox never has this problem unless your disk is dirty, and GTA double pack froze on me but only for the first 3 days of owning it. PS2 may have a wide selection of games but over half of them are rubbish. Xbox has less of the crap games. The graphics are better than the PS2, multiplayer is better, thanks to xbox live. There is a hard drive for xbox so you can borrow music of your friends and store it on to your hard drive as well as game saves(you can use a memory card to take data onto someone's xbox). The PS2 doesn't need a dvd controller but xbox does(people will often already have a dvd player anyway).

I'm sick of people saying that xbox is bad because graphics are great and gameplay is more important. XBOX is the ultimate gaming system for action games, Ninja gaidan is one of the best action games available and it's only on xbox and oxm(official xbox magazine UK)gave it 9.2. It's one of the highest ratings along with SPLINTER CELL 2, HALO, MAX PAYE 2, PROJECT GOTHAM 2 and BLINX the time sweeper and more. Ninja G.... is so good that OXM said cast your mind back to when you kicked someone through a stained glassed window in DEAD OR ALIVE 2 and remember how thrilling it was, times it by a million times and Ninja.....delivers on thrills . Buy the xbox for that game.

Check out these very good games that are coming out in the future on xbox, ADVENT RISING(action), Kill switch(shooting), manhunt(horror action), Driv3r(formally named driver 3 and it's like GTA), Full spectrum warrior(only on xbox, action), Spider man 2, Burnout 3, Richard burn's rally, Fable(only on Xbox)(RPG), Ghost recon 2(3rd person action), Halo 2(only on xbox), Pro evolution soccer, Break down(only on xbox, innovative 1st person shooter), Doom 3(only on xbox and PC), Dead or alive 4, Delter force black hawk down, Def jam vendetta 2(wrestling), Goldenye 2, Freedom fighters 2, Half life 2(only on xbox and PC), Jade empire(RPG), Otogi 2, Prince of Percia 2, Quake 4, PSI ops, Starwars Kotor 2(RPG), True crime 2, Top spin 2, The Matrix, Time splitters 3, Silent Hill 4 and Star craft ghost. BUY THE XBOX FOR THOSE GAMES and I didn't list all the games that are only for xbox.

Don't believe anyone that says xbox is trash because play Tony Hawks under ground on Ps2 and the gameplay is sluggish and so are the graphics compared to the xbox. Splinter cell 1 first came to Xbox with great graphics and gameplay and 5 months or so later it came out on PS2, people saying graphics improved, wrong. All the developers did was add a few colours on PS2 and xbox still had the best lightining effects and so on. When ever there's a game that goes multy format, it'll usually be best on xbox and Soul calibre 2 is a prime example.

I am a hardcore gamer. I have owned PS2 and Gamecube and Xbox (I sold my PS2 - not getting any use.) All systems have they're stengths. Anyone who denies that is NOT a good reviewer and just makes things up based on they're personal bias. So why IS Xbox, in my opinon, the best choice for a video game console?

Firstly, the graphics. I know you've heard this one before, but they truely are superb. The xbox is technically superior to both the other systems, no one can deny that. (Xbox has a 733 Mhz CPU, PS2 is 200 Mhz). Obviously, graphics do NOT make a great games, but they are something to be noted.

Secondly, the games. Believe it or not, Xbox has good games besides Halo. In action games, there are Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell, Rainbow Six 3, amd Ghost Recon, MGS:2, Mech Assault, Ninja Gaiden, Prince of Persia, etc. Good sports games too, including EA sports series, XSN sports series, and ESPN sports series. Racing games are excellent, with Project Gotham Racing 2 and Rallisport Challange 2. There are RPG's like Bauldors gate and Morrowind.

So the games are good, but is there anything else?

Yes. Online gaming. Microsoft made a system that I truely believe is superior to even online gaming on the PC. The gaming is on one serivice. This has more benifits than you may think. Say your plaing Ninja Gaiden, but your friend wants youto join his Splinter Cell game. No problem, he just sends you a message telling you to join his game. Microsoft's online gaming (Xbox Live!) also includes tournaments, rankings, lists of your friends, and of course, voice communication.

But why choose Xbox over the other systems? The gamecube is for people who want high quality single player games that are not online. If you are a solitary gamer, go for gamecube. PS2 has a hell of a lot of games, but most of it's exclusives are RPGs. If you MUST have RPGs, PS2 is worth having, but besides that it has few great games. If you don't fall into these two previous catagories, I recommend Xbox to you.

At first I bought this game for gamecube and I didnt like it very much. But after my friend told me everything it has to offer on the ps2 version I simply had to have it. This games got it all killer moves, an incredible story line, great sound, picture, music, and easy to use controls!! Your the prince of persia (obviously) and you get to control time with the mysterious dagger of time which the vizier tricked you into using, unleashing chaos throughout the world!! Aided by the princess Farah your quest is one of redemption not glory, undoing what you wish you hadnt done!! You can see into the future, pause, rewind, and even slow down time itself!! Theres just 2 down-sides to this game. 1) It wasnt as challenging as I had hoped but still gave me some trouble. And 2) its definately not as long of a game so dont use codes or anything (its kinda long but not really). All things considered, if your looking for a great game to spend your money on then this is one for the ages!!

This is one of the best games of ever played.Graphics are what PoP greatly excels in.Everything from the swinging of curtains when you run through them to when you stop to drink some water out of the fountain.Theres lush tropical places,dry sandy places,baths,bridges,zoos,and places inside the palace.

Now to the story.It's about the prince (who obviously not named) who's tricked into unleashing the sands of time.Which is something that turns every living thing into sand,mutates the palace,etc.So everyone gets turned into sand except the prince,princess farah,and the evil vizier.And the only way to reverse the s.o.t. is to use a magical dagger.Sounds original doesn't it?Well its a great story anyway.

The gameplay is also great.You fight different sand creatures.Theres soldier creatures,fat short ones,girls,normal men,and these big guys who for some reason are very hard to kill.Theres also bugs,bats,and birds (which are also nearly impossible to kill).Theres various attacks you can use.You can jump off walls and attack,you can jump over and attack,roll and attack,and just attack.While your not fighting you run on walls,run up walls,swing on poles walk across narrow ledges,avoid saws,and avoid spikes.

Theres basicly big rooms or places outside that you go from point a to point b without dying and actually figure out how to do it.Theres very hard puzzles that i had to resort to a strategy guide (the axles and the mirrors).Theres several different swords you can get all though theres really no difference.You have a normal health bar and if its down you can found water and drink it with the R1 button.Theres sinks,fountains,and just pools of water.

Now the buttons.You do almost everything with R1.You use it to run on walls,run up walls,swing on poles,drink water,and push things.You draw your sword with the O button and attack with square.You jump with X and roll with it.One thing I found difficult with this is when your fighting its sometimes difficult to roll and attack or jump over them and attack.

Now for one of the best things in PoP,the sands of time.You start out with i think 3 or 4 tanks if sand.You can refill it by finding sand clouds and from killing sand creatures.Theres also little half tanks beside the tanks.These are for freezing enemies and slowing down time.Each time you do one it takes up one.Full tanks are used to rewind time.If you fall and die or if you die in a battle you can simply rewind time and do the right thing.Later in the game you do this constantly.

You can unlock the original PoP at around 33%.Its not very fun but its pretty cool.The only thing is this game is way too short.You'll finish it in no time.

All in all,this is a great game.Its also the 3rd highest rated game of all time (beating by Vice city and Halo).I suggest you by it not rent it.

Let me tell you this game just plain out rocks! Having played my fair share of Ps2 games...this game stands far and wide as one of the best...To be honest it might be one of the funnest games Ive ever played. It starts off like a platformer type game but then some heavy combat comes into play...my girlfriend
and I split up the playing....(since I had rented it)...
we beat it in 7 days,.....she was floored by it...as I was..the graphics are far above most games....smoothe and clear...and his movements are amamzing...you never fall off ledges or die too easy...and the rewind thing is soooo cool!...Im a 37 year old gamer so its really incredible to find a game that just plays so well.
Buy this game...rent it!!! Damn I cant say enough...
you will not be let down my friend....

Castlevania is finally back. After years of GBA titles that continued to draw upon those SoTN fans by "re-vamping" the 2D side-scrolling action the series is famous for, finally we get to experience the Belmonts on a next-gen platform. To be honest, I've played every Castlevania game the US has ever seen. All in all, each title has it's own merits and flaws, (as the N64 crowd found out the hard way), but finally Konami has seen fit to get back to the basics that made Castlevania games great.

The first thing you'll notice about Lament of Innocence is what a lush environment you've been abandoned in. The graphics and sound, while all still comparable to Rygar and DMC in their similarities, are tweaked to a gothic perfection. The hallways bask in candle light and dark corners hide even darker enemies this time around. While it's true that the level design is pretty simplistic, fans of the series will appreciate the new vision of enemies and fast action. The Castlevania games have always, I've felt, needed to sell you on the atmosphere first, that you're in Dracula's castle, and that the fun is slashing your way through it. LoI certainly has the ambience you've hoped for, but it has it's definite flaws. The game has old-school flair and some great throwbacks like the Red Skeleton and Floating Eyes, but the problems that plagued this PS2 title have already been seen in others before.

Let's get to gameplay. First of all-hallways. Like them? Great. Want to spend most of your time running through empty ones whipping candles for hearts all day? Me either. The set-up is this: Hall, room of enemies, hall, room of enemies, hall w/ a couple enemies, repeat. Combos are cool, but really it amounts to a lot of button-smashing, though the in-game toggle for Items/Equip. is a nice touch. Saving the game is a must, but after running through count-less halls the need to save gets old. Leaping and whipping-hold of things can be a pain sometimes, but overall the camera just kinda hovers around Leon. The camera could have added to the cinematic experience, but while not as bad as DMC2, it doesn't add to the sweeping and legendary views it could have.

Now let's get to cutscenes and plot. A game as grand and long-awaited as LoI, touting the "Beginning" of the Belmont saga needs better than this. Put this way, Super Castlevania 4 for SNES had a better, creepier intro. I don't want to read about Castlevania, and lords and crusades...I want to see them, and LoI makes ya read text. Cutscenes here are usually very polygon-ish. After seeing the beautifully rendered Rygar and how deftly those worlds were created, well, Castlevania needed that 4-star treatment too. The storyline is OK, and certainly there are twists, etc. that will leave true fans wanting more, but not for this story, just more Castlevanias that can really nail it the way SoTN or Castlevania 3 did it.

In the end, Lament is a fun game to play, and fans will love what they see on the surface here. The depth isn't there, however, and the game ultimately is another "the next time they should do it this way..." sort of games. Gone is the GBA/SoTN style of RPG, it's a 3D incarnation of the 2D soul of the series. Great graphics, better sound, and cool bosses, enemies, and attention to detail. Bottom line: if you're a Castlevania fan at all, you'll love what they got right for this installment, but will still be plagued with the nightmares of what it could have become.

Who wouldn't like the idea of exploring a haunted castle and killing a few monsters? Personally, the idea has appealed to me since the first entry to the series back in the 80s. (Although that first game literally had me screaming in frustration when the Grim Reaper killed me AGAIN! That little b*****d was harder than Dracula, in my humble opinion.)

But then, this isn't supposed to be a review of the whole series, is it? My apologies.

All the elements that made those 2-D games so great are back in "Lament of Innocence", with a few added elements and a few drawbacks, too. And they are ... ("Drumroll, please.")

--I was disappointed that the whip is not upgradeable to a chain whip. Sure, you can get fire and ice and that cool purple glow for the "Vampire Killer", but I wanted a big-@$$ chain to wave around. I mean, how much damage can a leather whip (I don't care how much "alchemy" was involved) do against a creature made of stone? Oh, well.

--The ability to combine the spheres with the sub-weapons was really cool. Holy Water was always my favorite, and it still is.

--I'm glad that the platforming aspect of this game was toned down. 3-D games are notoriously hard when it comes to leaping about and landing on small platforms. The fact that Leon will not automatically walk off edges helps a lot, too.

--Why can't I destroy the Skull Pillars in this game? That bites.

--Visually, this game is at once beautiful and disturbing. All the lighting effects are nice, but zombies with venomous vomit? What mind thought that up? . . . The juvenile still in residence in my mind just says "Uh, that was cool," and chuckles.

--Yes, the cut-scenes and voice-acting are cheesy. But it's a video game, for cryin' out loud! Don't expect a fine work of art, here. Just something to waste a few hours on.

--OK, this is important. If this is a prequel, how did some guy named Walter somehow become Dracula? What happened to Vlad? The Castlevania games have always, ALWAYS been about hunting down Dracula. The fact that he's missing from this game draws a little away from the tradition. And yet I find myself thinking that this is probably the best game in the series. The only thing that would make it cooler would be if there was an upside-down castle waiting for you when you THINK you've beaten the game. (That was one of the best gaming surprises ever, by the way.)

If your gaming skills are really good or if you aren't the hugest fan of the series, just rent this one. But if you like the Castlevania franchise, pick it up. I found mine for relatively cheap. Possible Greatest Hits title?

In a sense this game is old hat. The beautiful fiancée of Leon Belmont, a knight crusader, is captured by Walter Bernhard, a master vampire. Leon deserts the crusades and flies off to the castle of the aforementioned vampire. There, after being handed a mystical whip, he penetrates layer after layer of horrible badness until he faces, and hopefully destroys, his true enemy. Which is about all the plot a good third person hack-and-slash really needs.

However, to create such a game with sufficient workmanship to make it compelling visually and challenging mentally and physically is no small feat. And that is what sets Lament of Innocence apart from many of its competitors. For one thing, developers are always tempted to substitute extreme difficulty for interesting challenges. Lament, on the other hand, is just doable enough to keep the player from throwing the controller at the monitor in disgust. And its puzzles can be resolved by keeping in mind that anything can be a tool.

Castlevania isn't perfect. I found that motion control and camera angle are both a little too loose. To some degree this is intentional, but I prefer controls that send objects where they are suppose to go. Especially when you are leaping from stone to stone in a frantic effort to scale a wall and there is one, and only one, spot from which to leap.

One of the problems in rating a game like Lament of Innocence is that it is very good, but falls slightly short of some other, very similar games. In this case I'm thinking of Devil May Cry. This is a case where 5 stars are too many, but 4 are too few. I would recommend both as great examples of their genre that can be played repeatedly.

This game was really good.But if all you parents are questioned on is this appropiate for my child?I'd say if they are young it's inappropiate.Because some characters might say the B word or the a word and the d word.Its gangsta violent and girls will fight over men.Rap music is always going on but the music they play is clean rap not explict lyrics rap.

But, so are you
Pros:
-Pretty good graphics
-Nicely done wrestling-style battle system
-Music from all the main Def Jam artist
-Some of the blaze finishers are Spectacular
-I get to be some of my favorite rappers(DMX, Ludacris, Mef/Red)
-Great voice acting(despite some voices arent in for long)
-Nice setups for devistating combos
-EA big has created another masterpiece, with the help of Def Jam
Cons:
-You don't have any weapons to use
-Where's the create a fighter mode
-Game's too short(beat it in just 3 days)
-Where's Jay-Z(So I can kick his copying...) Ja Rule(So I can kick his fake ...), Freeway, Beanie Seigl, Slick Rick, and LL Cool J? That would'ave made the game a lot better(getting revenge for artist who made me waste my money, and more artist whom I appreciate), and longer.

This game definitly made me forget about Smackdown real fast. Despite the cons, this game definitly will please fans of wrestling, and all of def jams fans as well. So if you are fans of either, this should be in your collection of PS2 games(or gamecube games)

Final Words:This game was superb, no doubt, but I just hope that if they make a sequel to this, let's just hope all of the problems this game has will definitly be tweaked, so everyone can enjoy a much better, and longer game.

Peace

Def Jam Vendetta is an extremely fun game with sweet graphics and cool gameplay. It also features the appeal of playing as your favorite rapper. These other people dont know what their talking about with the controls. They are flawless. The game is easy to jump into but requires time to master. The story mode is cool and enthralling but is totally linear and kind of short especially if you try and rush through it. Its also not that difficult once you get hang of how to reverse moves and when to do what moves. The hardest fight is by far DMX but is still not impossible. The replay value is ultimately limited but I beat it all 4 times just to see what would happen. The only real flaw is its lack of a variety of matches. But the game is so fun to play in basic one on one mode that it is hard to focus on this shortcoming. I cant wait for the cool looking sequel.

I was late to get this game and have only played it for about four hours now. I enjoyed Suikodens 1 and 2 so much that I bought this one without hesitation. The storyline is engaging once it gets going, and some of the music and characters are familiar if you've played the first two games. The menus are easy to access and logically laid out as is the battle system. The only thing I don't really care for is the clumsiness of the character control when you're in a village or town. You can't alter the point of view of the camera, which makes things awkward sometimes when you're trying to get in or out of certain places. I also have never cared for the 3-d polygonal characters that all the games seem to use nowadays, but Suikoden 3's characters have a little expression and personality and aren't too bad. Overall, I'm enjoying this game based on my past Suikoden experience.

Suikoden 1 was decent. Suikoden 2 was excellent, perhaps my favorite console RPG of all time. Suikoden 3 was good and rich, but somehow, it didn't grab me like its predecessor.

This game certainly surpassed the first 2 visually. However, I didn't care for the battle system -- more specifically, I didn't care for the two-person team system. It was clumsy and made little sense (okay, I almost don't mind the challenge of only being able to do combo attacks once per fight, but not being able to control half my fighters?! Sorry, I don't go for that).

I had issues with replaying the same scenarios OVER and OVER and OVER. Yes, I understand the purpose of this was to get different characters' perspectives, but honestly, there was more annoying redundancy than variation, and when I found out the actual storyline was only 5 chapters deep, and that I was supposed to consider the first 3 chapters to be 9 chapters because I had to play them 3 times each, I felt very cheated. Still, I enjoyed the surprise about one of the characters in particular, and that ultimately grabbed me.

You'll see far fewer familiar faces in this game than 1/2, and I'll spare you the disappointment right now: your rewards for loading a fully completed, 108-star-achieved save file from Suikoden II are almost nonexistent. Certainly nothing compared to the pleasant little surprise that II gave you.

Finally, my biggest problem was that I just didn't care about any of the main characters of this game the way I cared about Michael, Jowy and Nanami in S2. Granted, the main villain won me over, but a game should not have its central character interest around the villain. I'll admit the characters in this game are varied, but I found the S2 trio to be far more lively -- in the first 5 minutes of that game, I felt closer to the three main characters than I felt to the multitude of heroes in this game after completing it.

Overall, If you loved S2, you'll find S3 to be decent. Where S2 snatched you right up, you need to hack and crack at S3 for awhile before it keeps your attention, but I'd say it's still worth the money.

This third installment in the Suikoden series proves to be as good as its predecessors if not better. This game signals the series first time in 3D and first game on the PS2.

GRAPHICS

This game is completely in 3D and it couldn't look better. It's the second best looking RPG on the PS2(Final Fantasy X is the only game that looks better), and the characters and locations look great. Though some may shun the switch from 2D to 3D the change was really necessary and improves the experience. Afterall there were those who didn't like Final Fantasy going into 3D and Final Fantasy 7 is one of the series best.

GAMEPLAY

One of the keys to sustaining an enjoyable RPG is a battle system that doesn't get tired after hours of play, and Suikoden 3 succeeds. Once again you have six characters in your party, but this time you have to control them in pairs adding a new level of strategy and helping the battles go faster.

STORY

By far this games strongest quality is it's story. This is probably the best story for an RPG on the PS2 so far. It's compelling and thanks to the Trinity Sight System(A system that allows you to switch between 3 characters at the end of every chapter) the game has alot of varitie. There is also a big plot twist for those who played the first two games, though you don't have to be familiar with the first 2 installments to enjoy this game.

OVERALL

A must own for anyone who likes RPG's or even just enjoys the occasional Final Fantasy. This game is long, I clocked in about 70-75 hours playing it and it never once gets boring. There's also plenty of side-quests to enjoy and extra stuff to do. So go buy this game!

Well, I REALLY wanted to love this game. I came close, really close, but ultimately returned it today. I won't repeat everything that others have said about how great it is, but I do agree with most of their points. Using more than 200 units was a great feature, it got a little crazy at first but once you got used to it it did add realism - costs of units in Cossacks have been lowered compared to other RTS games so you can afford huge armies. I must compliment Strategy First on their attention to detail, the buildings were spectacular, and as far as I know much of the game was historically accurate in generating thier 16 (yes 16!!!) different nations. In Cossacks defense it was quite fun to play in a genre between AOK and more modern warfare such as one of the many WWII games out there.

OK, now here is why I returned the game: My biggest complaint will probably not effect too many people but since 75-90% of my gaming is gone multiplayer with friends from accross the country we were dissapointed with the fact that AI controlled armies were unavailable in Multiplayer mode!! I don't understand why this was since they do have a random map option for sigle player and it wouldn't have been too complicated to include this option for multiplayer. Not everyone is super competative and loves to whoop up on thier friends - we prefer to work together to overcome multiple AI Armies which is not possible in Cossacks

I also had problems with the game play. The Frigates and Battleships (emphasis on the later) were just too powerful. Their cannon range is incredible!! If you play an Island or Continents map these ships could almost fire all the way accross the land. No building or unit is safe from their wrath. The Frigates were bad enough but then the Battleships have increased rate of fire, damage, AND range - I can agree with the 1st two but the 3rd is unnecessary. Of course one way to try to stop these monsters is with stone walls, however Strategy First in their infinate wisdom chose to charge you for stone continuously - not just when you built the walls!! Huh?! I was constantly at zero stone and I couldn't seem to recruit enough peasants to get more.

There were some more other minor annoyances: no way-points and units sometimes had trouble finding the best route to a place; the ferrys were quite picky about where to land to load troops; peasants don't automatically go to work, as in Conquerors, which can be troublesome when you are talking about 100s of them; Other than the tech trees there is no real description of the pros and cons of each nation.

In the end I pretty much have to agree with CGW that this is still "just another variation on an oft-played theme" and that other than extra eye candy it doesn't add too much to the genre. There were not enough pros, or atleast too many cons to convince me that I wouldn't just go back to AOK in the coming months once the initial charm wore off.

I'll end in Cossacks defense: if you are not like me and have time to play single player games than it may be worth it - not at the standard retail price though find it on sale.

Happy gaming!!

Cossacks European Wars
Is a Real time stragy game, simular to Age of empires.
Takes place in the 17th and 18th centuries, and has units, that appear to be from the end of the medievil times and beging of american civil war.
I was personally most impressed by this game. The size of the game play area [maps] is HUGE. Creating units in this game is fairly cheap, and quick [as they should be] Buildings are the opposite, however this works out simply becuase of the Buildings durability, wow do they take a pounding.
To give you an idea, a peasent has 50 health, where as a building may have something in the area of 25000 health.
A nice addition to this game, other then the fact that you can build 8000 units...
Is if you build the same type of building example a barraks that building becomes more expensive each time u build a new one, it seems almost expotential. Which I like, it makes it that much more difficult to be over powered.
I will also add that this game isn't bassed as much on maintaining your economy as Age of empires is... In age of empires, you have to back and watch your farm's, tree cutters etc.... however in Cossacks, once you've put a unit to work your set, and you can focuz on the battle.
In battle formation's are key, if your not carefull you can lose many many units... but at the same time, if your orginized, and attack with skill you can wipe out your enemies, using the same type of units and being outnumbered, simply by attack'n with stragy.
One last addition, logisitics come into play in this game. For example, when u start with a few units, you'll noitce your food resource is slowly being leeched, and or depleted. This I like, the idea that your units are eating are hungry, and thus places a strane on your resources, each unit does this. If you where to run out of a food, a famine strikes, and your units slowly beging to die. Thus keeping a good income in food is always good. Usually doing this has no problem. Continuing from this, your build'ings and walls do the same, Although I did not notice this as much, but maintaining your walls requires some stone over time. Your military Units, also like to be paid, they will draw from your gold fund over time, if you run out of gold, some units will desert you. More over, your ranged units, your musket[rifles] units every shot take some coal and iron, which makes sence it requires iron for each bullet, and coal to shoot the bullet.

I really like these ideas, simply because, you can now lay siege to your enemies town/base/castle/fort. You can take a scout just in the outer range of your enemies base, watch them shoot at the scout, using resource's, and simply have the scout dodge the shot, its a cannon ball u can see it coming, and u can dodge it.
When I played mulitplayer with 2 friends, 3 of us Free for all. It was most impressive, so see a formation of cannons, musket's and pikeman to protect the muskets, setup so it is very difficult to defeat. however with the correct meathods can be defeated.

This game is a great strategy game for any age. It teaches young ones about geography and how gruesome war can be. Personally my son and I love it. Trust me its a great buy!

First things first red faction 1 blows away dis game. This game has an extremely short single player, hard to follow plot, and is NOTHING like red faction 1. Now ur tryin 2 stop some dictator named sopot but the plot wuz so boring i dont kno WHY they were fighting against him. Thers no ultor, mars, parker, none of it. Just some weird group of elite soldiers fighting against dis guy sopot. The single player wuz SO boring dat it took me almost 3 months to beat it......and no not cuz its long. I played dis game for bout an hour or 2 when i first got it then shut it off. Then after 3 months i piked it up again and beat it, but the only thing dat kept me playin wher the guns. Its cool havin a grenade launcher/machine gun lik the rangers in black hawk down hav. But otha than dat dont buy dis game. If ur dat intrested in it rent it......youll beat it in dat week anyway.

Red Faction 2 is just as good as its predecessor, but doesn't have the same feel as the oringinal shoot em up. The first game had more of a plot, better objectives, and a more challenging atmosphere. Don't get me wrong, Red Faction 2 is not a simple game. The under water level, and the final level each took me a very long time to do. Still, the game is action, action, and more action but the actions is so good, that the game player probably won't mind it. Alias is a decent hero, much like Parker in the first game, and the unique plot twist half way through Red Faction 2 was a very good idea. Where this game does surpass its original is in the area of weapons. Red Faction 2 has a great deal more weapons than Red Faction, all capable of doing the coolest things a video game has seen in a while. The multiplayer is much the same as the original, and overall, Red Faction 2 is a good game.

You see the title up above?? Yeah....That one...FAST FURIOUS ACTION...Its a perfect name for a review because thats all the game is, with a killer plot and good characters. This game is awesome fun with great replay value, i was dissapointed with the same old graphics but not dissapointed with the furiously addictive multiplayer mode that does not let you down. This isnt a game to play alone it is a game to play with 4-5 friends and totally kick arse! Sometimes the frame rate is a lil slow....but not bad..controlls are crisp and feel nice and polished. single player mode is annoyingly easy

Overall Ratings

Graphics:89.4%
Single Player:81.2%
Multiplayer:98.8%
Controlls:92.3%
Fun:97.9%

OVERALL
Red Faction 2:91.2%
Buy it if you love action!!

Im not sure if it can get any better than this. If there was a perfect MMORPG, this is it.

-INSANE graphics (for an MMORPG). The area's are detailed and ENORMOUS, and the character designs are wonderful. Stunningly beautiful in every way.

-Sound can get a little repetative, but this only happens after you would hear it for a loooong time. Otherwise, a job well done in this category.

-The gameplay is interesting and has enough tweaks and curves to make it unique in its own way.

-Obviously, you'll get alot of replay value.

-And of course, the hard drive a nice feature to add to your console. All PS2 owners should buy it. Unfortunately, you cant download music and such to it (i dont think), but you CAN move your saved game memory from your memory card over to it, which is extremely useful. A few other nice touches have been given to the hard drive as well, such as faster load times, and smoother graphics (makes games run better).

-Overall, FFXI is genius. Square, you never have ceased to amaze me, and this is you at your best. I salute you.

Final Fantasy is by far the biggest game I have ever played! I spent 4 hours just wandering around Sand'oria (Elvaan city). Anyway, the amount of things one can do in this game are almost limitless. You can fish, be a blacksmith, do carpentry, alchemy, form parties with people, trade/auction items with other players, plus so much other stuff that would take 3 hours to list. Be warned, this game is not for everyone. First of all, there is a monthly fee that may turn some people off. Also, if you are looking for a traditional type Final Fantasy look elsewhere because this isn't one. The fighting system is completely different and the story isn't quite up to par with others in the series (It's a MMORPG! What do you expect?). Other than that it is great. Now for the HDD. For the moment the only thing that uses the HDD is Final Fantasy XI, so it is quite difficult to write a review for it. However, there will be many games coming out that will use the hardware, so I will give it a 4 for the moment.

fun, buy it, and enjoy it

The game half life is about a person who has a job in a lab and somehow makes a tunnel that lets aliens come to earth. When your playing, you jump. You laugh. And in certain parts your even stunned. The game is in my top ten list for best shooting games. It's really fun. I mean who doesn't like killing an alein with a crowbar? Or blowing one up? If I was you this would be one game to buy. Along with the second one too. It's got killing, sneaking, strategy, and you can even ambush people. If you like sci-fi games and like to kill this is certainly for you.

Half-Life is certainly a good FPS title for the PS2. It's very reminiscent of Voyager Elite Force or Red Faction. You play the game as Gordon Freeman, a scientist in a secret research facility. Something goes horribly wrong and a portal to an alien world is opened up and you find yourself battling a variety of alien monsters and even government soldiers sent to kill you and cover the whole thing up. In the end, you will travel to the alien world for the final showdown.

Overall the game is a good game with decent graphics and sound. It has a "save at any point" feature which greatly enhances the playablity. The game plays basically as a continuous "movie" with few cutscenes and fairly decent loading times. The control scheme is almost identical to one used in Voyage Elite Force, however you have to learn that your weapon does not necessariy aim where you're looking.

I enjoyed the game and found it addicting, however I began to tire of it in the final missions. This game is longer than most recent releases, and even on the easy level, I found it to be pretty difficult, especially in the later stages. While most of the game involves fighting enemies, a fair amount of your time is spent solving puzzles and in the end, it became more about making tedious jumps rather than fighting aliens. After awhile, jumping from point A to point B gets a little tiresome.

This an enjoyable game worth the investment but be advised that it can get tiresome before you finish. The game is better than 3 stars but in my mind, maybe not completely deserving of the 4 star rating, primarily because of the "tedious" factor.

If you tried half-life for PS2 and liked it, you should also get a PC and try the other great mods from the game! they are linked with the same story, but a different point of view from other characters you meet in the half-life game.
oppossing force:
You kno half-life and gordon freeman being the main character? and how aliens and U.S. marine troops are out to get him? We'll in this game, you get to be one of the marine troops, and somehow gets lost from your squad, and in your own adventure! ( in some cases, you see gordoon freeman himself doing the things like you've done in half-life)
blueshift:
become one of the security gaurds in black mesa!

The only really cool part about this game is 2 mini games, TWISTED SYSTEM and TAILBLAZER! They are sweet, they are both fun, and you can play them for hours...but they are already on the HALO game disc as a FUSION FRENZY demo, so keep your money and just play the demo on the HALO disc...everyone has HALO, so...enjoy

Fusion Frenzy was one of the first games to come out on Xbox, and it is still a great game to have around. It is a collection of mini-games based on individual or (on occasion) team competition. Each mini-game has a different objective and lasts on the order of a minute. You score points by having a strong finish in the mini-games, which ultimately may lead to an overall win.

Fusion Frenzy contains 45 mini-games; and, although many of them are just different variations of a theme, there is enough variety to give the game plenty of play value. Levels include things like collecting orbs, knocking pucks on ice, human cage sumo matches, smashing bugs, jumping or ducking over obstacles, etc.

This game is great to bring out during parties or when company is over (such as after the Thanksgiving meal). While the game can only accommodate a maximum of four players, I have played with as much as eight by rotating controllers. The mini-games move along fast enough that no has a chance to get board.

Of course, this game is not for everyone. If you are a hard-core gamer who spends more time with your Xbox than sleeping and attending school combined (or if you were thinking about purchasing this as a gift for said gamer), this probable isn't the game for you. But if your video games are more for entertainment, rather than a way of life, of if you have a household of kids who want to have light-hearted fun, Fusion Frenzy is a good bet.

Okay, far too many reviewers have given this game bad marks because it has bad graphics, shallow characters and/or shallow gameplay. Apparently these people don't know what "party game" means! Generally, party games have bare-bones (but still somewhat impressive) graphics, simple, easy-to-follow gameplay, and little to no character development. In fact, party games that HAVE character development (such as Sonic Shuffle) just confuse the issue!

Fuzion Frenzy is one of the best party games ever made. Most other party games (such as Mario Party) have a board game or other such structure to hold the minigames together, and this usually ends up slowing the game down. Crash Bash was the first game to wake up and just be a collection of minigames, but the minigames were based on only a few different themes, and often got quite repetative. While FF has different themes like CB, the minigames within those themes have so much more variety. For example, the Hamster Ball minigames may have you racing hamster balls, trying to knock the other hamster balls off an ever-shrinking platform, or trying to run your hamster ball over as many goals as possible. The game allows you to play each minigame individually, or play the tournament mode. The tournament mode is a bit complex, and I'll leave the explainations to the instruction manual. Overall, this game was fun, fast, and enjoyable!

Oh, and contrary to popular belief, this game could NOT be pulled off on PSX! Trust me!