Music Reviews

Despite the game's title, this game is not at all in the same vein as the wonderful Baldur's Gate PC RPGs. It's a hack-and-slash dungeon crawler, and in terms of gameplay it is nearly identical to Diablo II, but with better graphics. If this type of game appeals to you, great! If you're looking for your RPG fix though, you'll have to get it somewhere else.

Let's start with the good points. The game is pretty fun if you're into hack-and-slash types, especially with two players. Any game with a two-player cooperative mode always scores points with me. The graphics and sound are very good, and the game is easy to learn and easy to control.

There is some replay value to it, as there are some new modes you can unlock by finishing the game. Beat the game once and you'll be able to play a special game mode that puts you in a tough dungeon on a short time limit, playing as none other than Drizzt Do'Urden. Beat that mode, and you unlock Extreme difficulty in the normal game, which is several times more difficult than usual. If you manage to beat Extreme, you can play as Drizzt in the normal game.

There are some bad points to the game, however. It's extremely short; you can beat it in under 10 hours. It's really a shame that the game is not more extensive. Also, as with any game of this type, it can get quite repetitive after awhile. The game is very easy as well. The Gauntlet is really the only difficult part of it. Even on Extreme, I had no problems completing the game quickly.

And finally, although I knew this wasn't really an RPG when I bought it, I still couldn't help feeling disappointed at the great lack of depth compared to many other games that have been set in the Forgotten Realms. I would have liked to see a wider variety of D&D skills and spells brought in, as well. For instance, the Sorceress (and all spell-casting enemies) doesn't have any spell effects aside from direct damage. It would be cool to have things like Entangle and Charm Person available, to have a thief class with all their many skills, and so on. I realize why many of these things were left out, but a little more work on the design could have added a welcome element of strategy to what it is essentially little more than a slugfest.

My list of complaints may be long, but don't get me wrong; for what it is, this game was executed extremely well. If you're looking for a game like Diablo, you will enjoy this. If you want an RPG, you're better off with Morrowind, or waiting until Bioware rolls out their Star Wars RPG this summer. It's better with a friend, so BG:DA scores a few points there. Still, rent before you buy. You could easily beat this game in a weekend, and you might never play it again after that.

this game is like the RPG of the century, good graphics, awsome weapons, and an asortment of spells and abilities. It's best to play as the archer or wizard. but I liked trying to beat the game on extrem to unlock Drizzt. but Drizzt starts on level sixteen, he cannot change his weapons.

Having played Baldur's Gate for the PC, when I picked up this game, I was anticipating the D&D experience -- many character races, tons of spells, highly configurable, optional quests, that kind of thing. When I got into it, still anticipating this would come along even with the limited character choice, I got into the graphics and the easy controls, the interaction with the environment, the jaw-dropping water effects. Finally it dawned on me that this isn't supposed to be a hard-core-gaming RPG, it's a console game. I've had my xbox six months and played a lot of crap -- the xbox is starting to come into its own, but you're really kinda limited when it comes to pc-style games (as opposed to the sports/driving/1st person shooter/stupid game-show parody) that seem to dominate the console). This game is a spectacular, simple, rpg. It's a bit short, but the experience is different with the different characters you can play, so there's some replay value. That's an argument for buying it used, but don't miss one of the good ones for the xbox.

My son LOVES his guitar. Because this guitar looks like a real guitar, my four year old thinks he knows how to play. However, it never stays in tune, and now after 1 1/2 years, it is cracked and needs replacement. This is great if your child isn't ready to really learn to play, since it will rarely stay in tune, but great fun for the music enthusiatist who only wants to play along with his/her favorite musician.

I first found out about this guitar when my 11 year old neighbor got one. She brought it over to my house to show me. At first I never thought I would be interested in a guitar because I play the trumpet and I thought it would be hard to learn to play 2 instruments. Whenever I go over to her house I always ask if I could play it and now I can play a chromatic scale on it. This should not be considered a toy because it is a real instrument. Sadly it seems like the strings are not very strong and I'm always afraid of them snapping.

My six-year-old expressed an interest in playing guitar with me. I was hesitant about the First Act Guitar due to it's low price and thought I would have to pay much more for a good student guitar. However, I purchased the First Act Acoustic and have been enjoying my time with my daughter ever since.

The guitar has a good sound and tone, is easy to tune and plays very well. I can use it to demonstrate chords and strumming so that my daughters (my five year old is now playing too) can hear what it will sound like on their guitar.

Playable, affordable and fun ... who could ask for more!

A four and a half star game. Good graphics, interesting story line, awesome spells. The spells make the game. The only thing that bothers me is getting stuck in stupid and random places. I'm normally pretty good at video games but this one was over my head. The story line was pretty weird to. Who ever heard of killing evil fatty monsters? Messed up. The end bothered me to. I won't spoil it, but it basically says, Oh, you really didn't do what you thought you were going to do. Okay then. But I enjoyed it.

I don't know about you, but storyline and gameplay is the most important aspect of the game to me. Good music and graphics are a plus but it doesn't make or break a game.

I played the Super Nintendo version and the storyline is amazing. Keep in mind this is a pretty old game and it's not like the Final Fantasy games you might have played. It's a little slow and pretty difficult but when you beat the game, you will not feel disappointed.

There are 3 possible endings depending on how you play the game. There's also a dozen characters to choose from and lots of secrets. In your Township, you can combine your characters with elemental shamans to give them new skills and abilities as well as make recipes and rest up.

Let's just say if you liked the old Final Fantasy games on SNES, you will LOVE this game. Almost the exact same thing.

Now i'am a true gamer when i decide to go out and buy new game i usually end up buying anywhere from 2-4 games to occupy my time. And now that it is summer, there's even more extra time just waiting to be filled. Granted this game will not have the length and graphics like "Final Fantasy X" and games for the newer systems. But the newer systems are not portable. When i'am away from home there is only one game i have been playing recently and that is "Breath of Fire 2" for the following reasons.

The game play is incrediable, characters are customizable with how you interact with them during conversions and how you fuse them with shamans.

The graphics are gorgeous for this little handheld system. You can watch night turn into day and the battle's are more clean and flow better.

If you do not like getting into those constant random battles that other rpg games offer. You can put it on auto fight so that you do not have to deal with pushing all the buttons to go though so many pointless commands.

The music is not repetitive like most rpg's. You can just sit there and listen to the music and not want to break the stereo in the game boy after 5 minutes.

Probably the best feature i have ever seen is a thing called quick save. How many times have you and a gamer have been in the middle of a dungeon that would take up to 10-15 minutes to get out and either your parents are telling you dinner is ready or that you have to go to catch a movie. Well everybody will apprecaite quick save becasue all you have to do to save is just go to the menu screen click quick save and then you can power down the gameboy. No running to a certain area like in all final fantasy's.

I recommend this game to every gamer who hates buying games that the beat to quickly and can never save when they want to.

And parents, you can buy this game for your children because it will keep them busy on those long summer drives and vacations so that you won't have to deal with them. And they can save when ever you want them to stop playing. No more excuses about not being able to stop because if they did not save they would lose all their hardwork.

a must for the kids and parents.

Someone asked about the snail thing and I had trouble with this part too but eventually figured it out. Start at the part with just two snails and then work your way over to the other end, but there's only enough time to bounce on each snail one time so move quickly. Hope that helps.

This video game is rather repetitive. Most levels involve merely swimming through rings over and over. However, given this simple game play a younger child will probably find it too difficult or frustrating to play it for long.

You are given plenty of chances to practice a level in the face of failure, so with some patience each level can be finished. It's too bad that the control in this game is a bit off, which is what makes completing the simple repetitive levels harder.

Nemo fans will enjoy the clips from the movie that are integrated into the game. The in-game engine bits however are a bit off and disappointing since they are animated at a lesser level than the Pixar clips.

We recently purchased this game for out 4 year old daughter and she loves it! Sometimes it becomes a little difficult for her and she gets frustrated, but she quickly goes back to playing it again. Our 11 year old daughter loves it also, even though it is only one player, they just take turns! I even find myself sitting there and playing it with them.
For a family, this is a good game. Some games for kids are just too hard, take for instance Powerpuff girls, my 4 year old will not even play it, she just becomes angry and cries!
The graphics are nice, looks just like the movie...and another bonus, it comes with a free child's ticket to see Finding Nemo the movie!

James Bond 007: Everything or Nothing is by far the best James Bond game yet. The graphics are great, although it is viewed from a 3rd person view (where you see yuor entire character, not just the gun). At first, this might not seem great. However, it ends up working very well.

James Bond 007: Everything or Nothing has great varity. The third person view makes stelth easier. The manual aim feature (like in Nightfire) puts you in frist-person ofr precies aiming. There is a fairly forgiving auto-aim feuture, as well. There are driving levels, with a better variety of cars. There are also more explosions, more opportunities to use tight-ropes, and the levels have multiple ways of being beaten.

James bond 007: Everything or Nothing is one of the best games around. There, unfortanutely, is no Xbox Live support, but the offline mode more than makes up for it. The split screen play (up to 4 players) is great, and fast. There are a wide variety of maps to choose from. This is the best offline shooter on Xbox.

This is the best Bond game so far. Between the gadgets,guns and cars I don't know what I like best about this game. they even use real names of guns unlike other games, i love it how you get the aston martin and the cayenne suv and a motorbike. the controls are simple enough that you can easily pick it up and start playing and after twenty-thirty minutes of high octane playing you have beaten a level or two. Everything Or Nothing is one of those games where some levels are easy but the ones that are hard...are hard but not so hard to where you just can't beat it and try over and over again. this is an incredible game.

At first, you may think, why by this game? Well Let me tell you why. First of all, It feels like a bond movie thanks to the talents of Pierce Brosnan, Willem Dafoe, Shannon Elizabeth and verey nice sound, whith the unbelevable music done by MYA. Then, you have first person veiw. Then, Tons and tons of Hi-tec Gadgets. And finaly, Tons of levles. Botom line, get it now!

I'm sorry all you Hulk fans out there, but this game is one of the worst games I've ever played. It brings me back to the super nintendo days. Graphics are horrible (except in the cut-scenes), terrible camera system, and the Banner missions all make for one bad, repetative game. And when I say repetative, I mean you get deja vu everytime you walk into the next poorly designed "factory" or "science lab" level. There are only about 5 different enemies, which you will face many, MANY times. The story is so convoluded, there shouldn't have even been a story in the first place. And the objectives, oh the objectives. Since when does destroying a giant gamma orb solve all of life's problems? I'm serious, in every friggin level, it has you destroying a gamma orb (or something closely related to one). It does have its high points though, it's a little fun kicking waves of mutated dogs around a big empty room until they die.

Overall- 2/5

This game surprised me. I didn't think it would be anything to speak of, like most comic book games, but it really is a lot of fun. The Bruce Banner levels are a bit stale, but passable. When you turn into the green goliath on the other hand, you will have immeasurable amounts of gamma-irradiated fun. Trashing literally every single thing and inch of space in the environment, you can never get tired of tossing around baddies, blowing up tanks, smashing through walls, leveling structures pillar by pillar, and fighting equally-hulking baddies, all the while screaming wildly in the traditional way of a Hulk hissy fit. 30+ levels, as well as an entirely new Hulk game accessible if you can figure out the codes revealed in the movie and on IGN.com make for a long game with lots of replay value. Several features are included in the game, including every trailer for the movie. Also, several behind the scenes features for the movie and game, including exclusive set photos are on the game disc. You just need to unlock them. In addition to that, there is a challenge mode. It's a great package to own. A downside is the camera, which is sometimes intrusive, but overall it works. The Bruce Banner levels should not have existed, or should have been improved on severely. Otherwise I would definitely reccomend renting it, but would hold off buying it since it goes by fast. Don't buy unless you're a Hulk fan or really liked the movie. Either way, it's a lot of fun.

Everything that needs to be said was said, so I'll just say a few things.

First, this game is unbelievably repetative. All you do is smash through everything like some mindless creature. There is no style to the way you fight. It's just a bunch of punches, thunderclaps, and ground smashes. This game is in terrible need of a true fighting style.

Second, the Grey Hulk is not different enough from the green Hulk, so what's the point? All he does it talk crap constantly.

In any case, if you just want a game full of mindless violence, then you will definitely enjoy this.

Upon first playing Return To Castle Wolfenstein, I expected a fantastical shooter full of Quake/Doom-like enemys with the swastika insignia all over them. That would have been OK, but this time around ID has taken a more realistic approach. For most of the game, you'll feel like you're playing Medal Of Honor. There are still fictional elements present, like zombies, mutants, and Nazi cyborgs...but it's kept to a reasonable level. The controls are about the same as most first person shooters as of recently, and the graphics can hold their own with the competition (despite the occasional slow-down during heavy fire-fights). The textures in the walls and ground all look appropriate, and the level designs are well crafted (some areas are based on actual towns in Germany). As with most games ID puts out though, the story falls short toward the end. The first few cut-scenes set the stage for a dramatic story, but the ending boss battle and epilogue feel unclimactic. Another disappointment is the absence of a multiplayer mode...you'll have to the get the X-Box version for that. Overall, Wolfenstein is a pretty decent buy if you like first person shooters. As far as multiplayer modes and customization go though, I have to recommend Timesplitters 2 or Halo instead.

First off I'll say that I've never played the original Wolfenstein game but I'm a huge fan of FPS. I wasn't to hyped about this game at first but once I played it, I wondered why I had waited so long. Operation Resurection is so good that I just can't stop playing. The guns (especially the Venom) rock. The levels are diverse and detailed. The enemies are very tough, even on the easiest mode. I grew up on shooters like GoldenEye, Perfect Dark, and Medal of Honor and believe me Operation Resurection holds it's own against even the classics. I like a lot of different kinds of games and am kind of a critic when it comes to replay value. The only way completed levels can be played again is by starting a new file. I wish I could go back to some of the fun ones but I can't figure out an easy enough way. If anyone can help, Please post a review to me. I really like and also own Medal of Honor Frontline, Medal of Honor Rising Sun, XIII, and Ghost Recon so Operation Resurection was a nice addition to my bullet loaded collection. This game features all the finer points of an FSP, big guns, zombies, nazis, good graphics, nice and finely cut cinematics. By this game, especially now with it's recent discount.

This game is lots of fun. I got what I expected. A sequel to the old Wolfenstein 3D game. There's lots of guys to shoot and later on in the game there's some monsters. The weapons are cool and not too futuristic except for the lightning gun. All in all its a good game.

Let me just say that I am as big a YuGiOh fan as there is. I play and collect the actual TCG and have all the GBA games. While I will say it is nice to have access to alot of the newer cards in this version, there is NO PASSWORD system. You have to rely on the computer to "give" cards randomly. I have maybe 20+ round played at this point and already have multiples of useless cards. That is not any fun if you can already play the game, and have played with a well built deck. To make it worse the game is painfully S L O W, with no way what so ever to speed it up. The only reason a single game would last 10 minutes is because the computer feels it neccessary to show every card played, for at least 5 seconds, before it proceeds (which may not seem like much but, it feels like an eternity when you got several moves in your head) and shows every phase very S L O W Y. If you take this game at face value, it's still fun because it's a new Yu Gi Oh and the 3 cards that come with it could actually be useful. Although the double of whammy of below elemetary pace and NO custom password system (which makes even less sense, because of 3 possible decks to build) kills what could of been without a doubt the best one yet. I was really disappointed.

2004 is a great dueling simulator, but that is all it is. There is no story as in Worldwide Edition (thought that title's story was weak, but at least there was some reason to be dueling). When I first started playing, I was disappointed that it played slower than the previous title (though not nearly as slow as Eternal Duelist Soul. There is a trick to speeding the game up to blazing speed. Just hold the L button down while you select an opponent. Then the duel just flies!

The addition of being able to have 3 different decks is a great addition, but the lack of the password feature is disappointing. I am sure this was left out to even the playing field in the real-life tournaments Konomi is planning for the summer. The editing interface at first seems worse that previous titles, but when you get the hang of it, it actually features more functionality. Nice.

This game is great if you only want to duel. That is enough for me and many CCG fans. But casual buyers beware. No tutorial and no story may back this title less appealing and difficult to learn.

This is the best Yu-Gi-oh! Game ever made. The rules are just like the official rules ( So there is no level $hit ) and all the characters from the tv show are also featured. The cards from LOB, MRD, MRL, PSV, and LON. There will be some cards ( Dark Magician Girl, Wide-spread Ruin )that are later released and some ( Big Shield Gardna, Shine Palace ) that arent even released in America! The game is so great and the promos are cool. Defanitely pick this up!

Great Thing: I can be Huddersfield (Division 3 in England).
Bad Thing: I can't control all 11 players on the pitch at the same time, with a single controller. No one can.
Electronic Arts need to have all the good things about FIFA without the extremely complex gameplay. How can you dribble the ball with player A, make a run into the box with player B, dodge a tackle from player X, send a perfect cross into the box to player B, and bury the ball into the back of the net past the goalie with player B? I don't see why I just can't hit a "cross" button and if player B is where he should be, I score like 30% of the time, kinda like real life. So what if the score is 6-5? That is fun, and sports games are fun with 4 people playing at the same time. Can't do that here, unless you have mental telepathy with your teammate.
If you are a video game junkie and want to "master" an intricate game via thumb gymnastics in one player mode, this is your game. There is no better looking soccer game, period. However, if you are impatient, and/or don't care that much for soccer, this is a tough sell. I for one am waiting for FIFA 2005 to look just like 2004 but play like FIFA 1998.

Fifa 2004 is a quality simulation, but that's exactly what it is, a simulation. With every sport simulation game comes good and bad points. I will say that Fifa 2004 is the most realistic soccer simulation that I've played thus far.

Good Points:
1. BEAUTIFUL GRAPHICS - the graphics are amazing and fluid. There is hardly any lag in the game, except sometimes when the game speed increases on a worldclass level.

2. ABOVE AVERAGE REALISM IN GAMEPLAY - the game really attempts to simulate a soccer game, from formations to using player attributes to your advantage. It's very similar to playing an actual match because you can't just continuously press the shot button to score. The game forces you to control and work the ball, and to take advantage of space by using lobs, and wingplay.

3. CAREER MODE - the career mode is fantastic. It enables you to select a league team and transform it into what you want, through the use of transfer markets and weekly training. This transformation takes place over the course of 5 years, so you can literally take a below average team and take them all the way to a cup final!

Bad Points:
1. FREE KICKS - this is the single most horrible feature of the game. Whether it's layoff and shoot or direct, it's nearly impossible to consistently get a shot on goal. I really like that they made it more difficult to execute free kicks because it is difficult to properly place a free kick in a real match, but it shouldn't be nearly impossible.

2. BORDERLINE CHEATING FROM AI - the game AI is very competetive when played on higher skill levels, sometimes unrealistically competetive. It's quite amusing sometimes actually, but the computer goes on these sprees where everything you do is countered and made advantageous to your opponent. I really like the relentless pressure that the computer puts on your team, but there is a difference between pressure and cheating. For example, if the computer plays a through pass to a striker in a good position to score, they will disallow your defender from interfering by creating a temporary 'field' around the striker. AND THERE'S NOTHING YOU CAN DO ABOUT IT!! Haa ha ha!

Overall, this is a simulation game so we can't expect it to mirror real life exactly, but it's the closest thing you can get! The good definitely outweighs the bad, so if you love the game of football/soccer then buy this game!

i have had for 3 days and it is amazing! i'm really bad at it but i don't care! i can't beat arsnal so i play my brother mostly. i would reccomnd this game for any one who likes football (soccer).

I was not at all happy with this game. I think EA went too far to the "simulation" side of things with this release. The Bruise Control checking option is really clunky -- after playing for two hours I had only managed to nail three players. The new graphics/reactions are cool enough (players now crumple against the boards and flop to the ice, as opposed to splatting directly to the ice as in 2003), and it's alot harder for a shot from the point to actually make it through a pack of bodies in from of the net.

The controls are horribly convoluted as well. There's no way you'd be able to play this game with all it's moves/options without using a 10-button controller of some sort. I have such controllers, but really don't enjoy using all 13-buttons to get things to work properly. I definitely miss the 2003 set-up that permitted the use of, really, only 6 buttons to get everything done.

The new create a player option is really lame, too. You can no longer personalize each face, for example, by choosing various eye shapes/color, hairstyles, noses, etc. Instead, you're presented with predetermined faces... so the possible variations are pretty slim.

The Bruise Control is by far the biggest disappointment for me personally. I did not at all find 2004 fun... I bought it the day it was released, played it for three days (had to give it a chance), and then proceeded to pack it back in the box and tossed it on the bookshelf where it's sat ever since... gathering dust.

It would have been far better if EA had not tinkered with the controls and simply updated the graphics and animations. 2003 wasn't perfect, but I could play three or four seasons and still enjoy every game. With 2004, I didn't enjoy the game at all and never even bothered getting to the Franchise or Season modes (both of which got blasted pretty hard on EA's website forums).

I'm going to have to check out another NHL title in order to get my fix this winter. Or just keep playing NHL 2003, I guess. Either way, I'll be more hesitant to buy the next EA NHL title when it comes out next year. I'll definitely wait to read some reviews before dropping the dough for it.

First off, I've been playing the EA NHL franchise since 93-94 and every few years the game gets a facelift. This year, you can see the mesh of the jerseys and the skating engine was improved. Another monster improvement was the lack of ability to skate through defenders with the puck. This means passing is very important, as it is in real life.

There are some bugs where defensemen (and goalies) knock the puck into their own nets, but overall the game plays well though it takes time to get proficient at it. The game scores are moderate (especially if you try and play it like a real game. If your scoring is spread around you might have 2 - 4 20 goal guys and maybe only 1 or 2 80-100 point players. Goalies are not likely to get more than 8-10 shut outs but your save percentage can get pretty high (around 0.930).

Dynasty mode. This is the best part of the game. The fact you can either take your favorite team or build your own (however which ever team is displaced from the NHL to accomodate you, their banners are still in your rink). You can do a complete fantasy draft and then start simming/playing games. Win now or win later by trading experience for potential, set your ticket prices, buy upgrades for your team, etc... The sad part is, you can't extend contracts until their last year (and then they usually want a big increase). Salary is based on stats, not performance, so if you have a really fast skater sitting 'in the minors' he'll want big league money....Hint: sign and trade for a young guy, especially if you don't need him right now.

The computer trades frequently though the dialog box you see does not have enough information. You have to go and manually look at the trade by proposing it yourself. The create a player feature, to me, was upgraded. Visually you are limited though now if you want a Wayne Gretzky - he's gonna cost ya. A lot of money.

The announcing team got a facelift with Craig Johnson becoming the new color guy. It sounded a bit stilted but at least he sounded intelligent.

I'll buy 05 when it comes out. I think the game went in the right direction this year from 03.

Although I've only played the demo, I am amazed at how realistic the game is. It's like a dream come true. I've always said the players had too much control of the puck and that they need fights along the boards. And if the Dynasty mode comes anywhere near what I expect, I'll be impressed. I've been on wishlists posting for great franchise modes since 1999 when I started playing my first Football Sim. And this is almost as good as it can get. (Also, for those hardcore simmers, check out Eastside Hockey Manager: Franchise Edition coming out soon....it's bound to be a GREAT game!)
For any hardcore hockey player/fan, this game is a must have! It's a little hard to get started but once you play 4-5 games you start getting the hang of it.

Unfortunately, for those who have never really played or watched hockey, this game will probably be frustrating.

One negative is that there are too many controls...With my 6- button gamepad, I can't do half of the commands...
So I'd recommend getting the PS2 or XBox version before the PC.

I haven't "bought" a game since I don't even remember but I'm getting this one as soon as my paycheck comes in...It's too bad my studies are gonna suffer :(