Science Reviews

i dont think this game is great its okay for a regular game but it doesnt meet the expectations you would think mega man deserved. The graphics arent amazing but okay as far as the 3d goes but the textures are terible. The game play isnt that bad its just not worth the money. This game is almost as good as the regular megaman series but its not as good as the mega man x series. this game is good for ages 7 - 12 but if your a teenager or adult get one of the mega man x games.

In recent years, Capcom attempted to bring their classic Mega Man franchise into the new millennium. They gave the series a complete makeover, in a number of ways, and thus, the Legends series was born. How does this, the first game in the Legends series, measure up? Read on and see.

PROS:
-IT'S A FULL 3D GAME. Many fans of the Mega Man series had long been awaiting such a game, and at long last they have one. Well, sort of.
-THERE ARE TONS OF WEAPONS AND ITEMS FOR YOU TO FIND AND USE. The island where the game takes place is filled with ruins which it will take a good deal of time to explore in their entirety.
-THE STORYLINE IS BETTER THAN SOME PEOPLE MAKE IT OUT TO BE. This is NOT really a Mega Man game, but the storyline the game has is an interesting one nonetheless.

CONS:
-THE BIGGEST CON IS THE MOST OBVIOUS ONE - IT ISN'T REALLY A MEGA MAN GAME! Capcom just used a Mega Man look for many of the characters so that they could sell more games. For shame, Capcom.
-THE GRAPHICS ARE HORRIBLE, EVEN FOR A FULL 3D PLAYSTATION ONE GAME. The characters look like they were made out of paper, and I don't mean that in a good way. The 2D Mega Man games on the Playstation had graphics way better than these.
-THE CONTROLS SUCK. If you want to turn, you have to rotate the camera. This becomes extremely annoying in no time at all. There are also several other control faults.
-THE GAME LEAVES TOO MANY QUESTIONS UNANSWERED. If the series really IS somehow connected to the other Mega Man game series, the game fails to tell you how. Likewise, your character's origin is never explained.

OVERALL:
Overall this is a good game, but it wasn't really what I was hoping for. That's not to say you won't have any fun with it - I think you'll be pleasantly surprised. If you find this game in the budget bin, pick it up. It may surprise you.

Mega Man Legends revolutionized The Blue Boy wander forever.Mega's 1st 3-D appearence.I strongly suggest that you buy this game.$15 is an awesome price.In the game,Mega Man is looking for the "Mother Load",the greatest prize of "Diggers".Mega Man also thinks that if they find it,it might help solve the mystery about Roll's past.In the game,you can find air shoes(the famous X "dash")and the famous helmet.You start with Mega Man having no helmet,but thts cool. You can also get special weapons,like the sword and a drill.I would say this,and this only....
BUY THIS GAME NOW!

A Master of Orion type game set in the Star Trek Universe! When I first heard this game would be coming I was thrilled and impatiently waited for the day it would be released. Unfortunately waiting for the game was the most exciting thing about it.

Now don't get me wrong it is a "good" game but it is not great or fantastic in any sense of the word. If it had been released a few years ago it probably would have been received better but the truth is that this game is simply Master of Orion with Star Trek names and graphics. There was no real improvement or innovation in this game. Star Trek's rich background and history are given short thrift. The Diplomatic system is shallow and uninspired. The combat system held the most hope but it simply becomes a battle of the strongest fleet wins, with little chance for tactics or strategy. One of the worst features is trying to navigate around the map. You can't simply scroll with the mouse pointer like in MOO but have to zoom and unzoom between different map settings.

In the end if you really love Star Trek and simply can't get enough this game will probably interest you. But if you are a serious gamer looking for new challenges, wait for this game to hit the clearance rack.

This game is very good for Star Trek fans. the multiplayer abilities make this game something special. One drawback is the micromanagement and slow speed for larger galaxies. Overall a very good strategy game.

This game was the first turn-based strategy game I ever owned. My roomate played Master of Orion 2, but I never got into it because it seemed like it had a high learning curve and seemed kind of boring. However, as a Star Trek fan I heard of this game and somehow got a copy of it cheap from an auction site way back when (good luck doing THAT now. My original copy shattered in my CD drive and I was SHOCKED to see how much an original copy of this game is going for. Microprose would do a lot of business by re-releasing this sucker). The learning curve here was steep as well, but the tutorial and a highly-recommended walkthrough on the Internet written by Cadillace helped me to get the hang of it (if you're interested in this game, look this walkthrough up; it is better than the manual or the so-called "official" strategy guide). After that, I was hooked.

The basic plot of the game is simple. You choose one of 5 Star Trek TNG empires; the Federation, the Klingons, the Romulans, the Ferengi, or the Cardassians, and TRY TO TAKE OVER THE GALAXY! This is easier said than done, since whichever galactic power you choose, the other 4 will be there with the same aims as you. Each galactic power has its own distinct style and game display appearance, special abilities and weaknesses in both technology, intelligence, research, diplomacy and ships. The game parameters are highly variable, and no one game is the same; thus replay value is pretty high. Other factors influencing game play include:
A)Minor races with varying special structures that can aid your empire. You can either sweet-talk/bribe these races to join your mighty empire, or you can swoop in and force them to join your mighty empire. You can play the game without them, but it won't be as interesting. Diplomacy relates your empire to both the minor and major empires.
B) Random events. These can be turned on or off. If you're a beginner then start with them turned off, but once you've gotten the hang of the game they can add a bit more excitement to the game. These events can be sometimes good, mostly bad. Good random events include positive planet shifts say from desert to Oceanic(increasing population and allowing construction of various structures). Bad random events include (but are not limited to) negative planet shifts, earthquakes and plagues, warp anamolies, and various alien creatures wandering the galaxy and interacting negatively with your ships and planetary systems. The worst alien creature you may encounter are the dreaded Borg. A Borg cube can assimilate a system in at least 5 turns, and when a system is assimilated a new cube is formed which begins assilating elsewhere, and so on. You better have a huge fleet to blow them away Admiral...

There are two ways you can win and you choose the conditions at the game's beginning. You can either win by domination (control 60% of the galaxy by yourself, or 75% if you are in an alliance with another major power) or by vendetta (where you have to wipe out two of the major empires who are your blood enemies). Whichever you choose, strategy is quite important. Know when to fight, when to make peace, and be ready at all times.

Issues with the game involve memory hogging, slow and jerky motion as the game progresses, frequent crashing, and the cheating of the computer players.

This game got me interested in other turn-based strategy games, and so far I have Star Wars rebellion (a much steeper curve than this game, i still do not know how to play it), MOO2 (seems interesting, still trying to figure it out) Space Empires IV and MOO3 (haven't gotten to play them yet). So far, i still recommend BOTF. Check it out if you can find it.

First of all, this review is ASSUMING THAT THE GAME WORKS ON YOUR COMPUTER. I read some of the other reviews below and heard about how this game isn't compatible with some graphics cards or whatever. If that were the case, I'd haved to give this game one star. But since this game did run perfectly well on my machine, here's what I have to say about it. The only space sim that I've played other than Tachyon is X-Wing--an old VGA game--but in many ways X-Wing was the turning point in space sims. The graphics in Tachyon are really good, if somewhat redundant. What I mean is that sometimes I see the same patterns and textures on space stations. Speaking of space stations, I was MOST IMPRESSED by their SIZE. The people at Novalogic really did an outstanding job at scaling things correctly. But what really got me to buy this game was the fact that you could buy different ships and decide what armament and upgrades you want to put on it. Certain ships have a certain amount of slots, and the possible combinations are nearly endless. Another nice feature is that you can own multiple ships at once, or sell individual ships or parts for money. You can hire wingmen to assist you on missions. Since there is no in-flight camera, it's hard to tell if your wingmen did anything to help you, but at least they don't die easily--even the poorer pilots. There are several external view, but I didn't find them very helpful. They should have put a gunsight on the external view so that you could fly through the mission, accomplish it, and enjoy the scenery at the same time. The game is sorta nonlinear. You get to choose which level mission you want to undertake, but ultimately you will end up doing the others. The missions are fairly simple and varied, which is nice. I remember that X-Wing was downright frustrating at times. By the way, there are cheats for this game, so if you get stuck, look 'em up. The levels with the fog are interesting, although they can be a strain on the eyes and disorientating at times. But that's not until the end. There are some cut-scenes, but nothing truly original or amazing--they're still the in-game graphics. This game could have been better, but overall I'd say it's worth its price. But I'd check to make sure it can run on your machine, first.

I wish i had the full version of it..
I got the game demo as a demo bundle to the Video Card that i had bought a E-TNT2 64 AGP card...

But the game is fun... the controls are pretty easy.. you gotta play around with it a little bit buts its really fun~
great story line and even better plot.
Good Graphics too

wanna buy me the game? lol

I've been playing outer space combat sims since the original X-Wing came out in 1993. Tachyon is just as fun and I must say the graphics are WAY better! ;) I'm using a GeForce2 on a PIII 500 with the game's graphics settings maxed out. It runs perfectly. It's an older game but I could never run it cause I didn't have a nice enuf system. It reminds me a lot of Privateer 2 but I think it's better. Definitely check this one out. Can't beat the price and you get MORE than what you pay for this game!!

Do yourself a favor, don't buy this game.
I'am a HUGE Spidey fan and ran out to get
the game as soon as it was out, BIG MISTAKE !!!!!!
Hands down the 1st Spider-Man game is 100 times
better than this piece of junk.
The graphics were slightly better than the first.
Overall the whole story was very lame,
gameplay was very difficult and i havent played
it a second time. I feel more effort went into the
Stan Lee narrations rather than the gameplay itself.

This game was quite good. The voice acting like the previous one was great and the story was good also, perhaps better than the first game's. The graphics were- well not necessarily BETTER, just different. The enemies were rather good, but not quite as good as the ones in part 1. Plus, this game was quite a bit more difficult than the first one with more difficult levels to complete and more complicated puzzles. There are only a couple of things about this game that I'm still a bit unsure and confused about: 1) What ever happened to the Beetle? He was never captured along with Hammerhead, the Shocker, or Electro. He just gave the Bio-Nexus device to the Sandman who later gave it to Electro and then he brought Hammerhead and his gangsters to Electro's hideout. After that, he didn't appear anymore. Hmmmm... I wonder, will he appear in the next game as the main bad guy? ; 2) Did the Sandman die after Spider-Man washed him down a storm drain, or is he just waiting for another moment to strike at Spider-Man? Oh well, I guess those questions will be answered in the next game.

If you're a big fan of Spider-Man, you'll probably like this game. Either buy it or rent it. But just you wait till you see the game based on the movie.

Spider man1 was a bomb.But this one is even Better.It has a good story line but there are some cons and pros
PROS:
1)Good graphics
2)easy controls
3)Loads of different costumes
CONS:
1)Faulty camera angles
2)The games too short
And does any one want a handy cheat .WELL!!!go to the cheats menu and write "AUNT MAY"this cheat will unlock EVERYTHING.all costumes all levels and whatever.
WELL then Happy Gaming!
Control:4.5
Graphics:5
Gameplay:5
Value:4
Over all :Actually I,ll give it a 4.5

The megaman 8 game has awesome originals such aas doc. willy.
it has decent graphics and is overall a blast. megaman could stand to have a bit more powerfull attacks though.

[If you copy my writing style, it is because I am ultimate.]

Mega Man blasts onto the PSX with his 8th adventure. Wily's back, and this time he's after two robots who battled endlessly before crashing on Earth. One of them is Duo, Mega Man's new ally, and he battles an evil energy that Wily wants to get his hands on. So far, this is the latest installment unless you count MegaMan & Bass (a.k.a. Rockman & Forte) as the 9th, although I personally call it Mega Man 8.5. Read on to see why this is a decent game:

THE GOOD
Some people were put off by the cartoony graphics, but I thought they were fine, even if Mega Man looked a little funky. The backgrounds were very nice and the level designs were quite good... they haven't been this good since MM4, in my opinion. The storyline is among the best in the series and it's almost played like a comic book, which I found intriguing. Proto Man ALSO HAS TO DO WITH THE STORY and the poor guy needs to get his own game! The music is thankfully better than the past two entries and this is an overall challenging game, something that most games lack nowadays. On a final note, you can also have a weapon selected simultaneously with your mega buster, which is VERY convenient.

THE BAD
Probably Mega Man's girlie voice (he's a GUY, Capcom!). In fact, ALL of the voice acting in this game is quite horrid. I also didn't like it that they dismissed the Japanese intro music and while I'm not a fan of Japanese music because I can't understand what they're saying, it's an upbeat tune that shouldn't have been ignored (and FAR better than X6's heavy metal theme).

OVERALL
Considering what we have in the game, it's not a bad game and I consider it a masterpiece in comparison to Mega Mans 6 and 7. However, fans of the older Mega Man games may be turned off by it. I recommend it to die-hard Mega Man fans who are willing to get over some cartoony animation.

If your an older gamer or just someone who likes older game series you have probaly played Megaman (the original series not X,Legends,Zero,or Battle Network) I remember when I first got my NES when I was 5 and Megaman 2 I loved that game and still do so I saw Megaman 8 for playstaition decided I should check up on this series (I'm more of a Megaman X fan) from the opening movie which is shown in stunning anime to the ending credits this game is flawless the story begins with 2 strange robots fighting in the deep reaches of space when they injure each other so bad that they crash land into earth and Megaman heads to investigate when he gets there Dr. Wily (for you noobs Megaman's main enemy) is carrying off one of the robots which has very evil very powerful energy Wily is harnesting so Megaman helps the second robot and heads after Wily so the battle begins with your standard 4 bosses Clownman,Grenademan,Frostman, and Tenguman(my personal favorite) and after they are done your next four appear Swordman,Astroman,Searchman, and Aquaman(not to be confused with the DC comics hero) you Megaman veterans already know where this is going even though the game is standard Megaman format that same format is perfect and if it ain't broke don't fix it

Graphics wise the game rules its 2D but very good looking 2D the enemies and backgrounds are very detailed I could just stare at them all day but I won't but anyway you older gamers will admit this is a huge step up from NES and SNES(remember the old square shots that would pass off as bullets in the old games?) Megamans graphics Megas little pellet shots even look good his charge up shots have detail and just the basic movements of running jumping and sliding look pretty good

Sound hows the sound you ask? Great the music for each stage is good and even the voice acting in the cut scences is nicely matched also having the cut scences in anime was a great idea seeing Bass and Megaman duke it out in anime is really great to see it really makes the carnival level more fun when you have carnival music as your background all also when you're going through a labyrinth in Astromans stage the music really sets the mood for how strange the level is these are just some examples as all the music really does a good job of setting the mood for fun

Fun factor is what makes this game so great is that there are so many diverse challenges in levels and ways of getting around such as snowboarding,flying via the Rush Jet and even swinging on vines in a jungle so many robots to destroy so little time also there are added challenges like finding 40 bolts that Roll (once again for you noobs Megaman's sister) will make upgrades for Megaman with and its not as hard as some other Megaman installments so if you're rusty on the series or new to it this would be a good place to start basic Megaman formula still is around if you beat a boss you obtain his power example: if you beat Clownman you get his power the Thunder Claw even though I have beaten the game several times I still find myself playing it

The Bottom line here is that Megaman 8 is another perfect Megaman game that seems to just get better with every installment that needs to be in everyones Playstaition collection 10/10

By the way for those of you who agree with my review lets hope for Megaman 9 soon

I love x-files but the game doesn't rate as high. Although I enjoyed parts of the game I spent a lot of time wondering around with nothing to do. I eventually found a cheat page on the web and the game moved a lot faster. The biggest problem I found with this game is that when it's over--it's over. 4 CD's and several days later your left with a $40 CD you don't really want to play again because you're already solved the mystery! Oh well- it was fun to play while it lasted.

This game is so cool! I played it without a memory card and kept dying, so then bought a memory card and finally got past the first disc. Much fun had by me being obnoxious towards the characters. Try to handcuff Skinner and he gets uptight. Do it a couple more times and he gets madder! A true riot :) I did accidentally shoot Scully, and that was very disturbing. Other than that it's fun to get through, then put it away for a year and play again.

This game is sooooooooooooo awesome,it is the best PSONE game.I actually have a PS2 but i rented this game,tried it on PS2.Its great.
TV Similarities:
TV intro @ beginning
Mulder/Scully MORE than just cameos
Same types of cases

DIFFERENCES:
Different Agents

BUY THIS GAME!

After playing the great X4, I was expecting another great addition to the series, but sadly, I didn't get it. Don't get me wrong, it's a decent game, but not up to par with many of the others in the series.

Gameplay: 7.1/10

The control is basically the same as X4, read my review of that one if you want the whole deal with that part of the game. It does add in a few things like: Zero's gun, the ability to duck, and a few other minor upgrades.

The levels here are what really disappointed me. I mean, you get some quality Megaman ones here, but then you get some pretty lame ones, too. I've never been a fan of the ones you have to ride a car-like vehicle through, and then there's the water one, which I don't like either. Add in a couple of other boring levels and overall it's not so good. There are a few bright spots here, though, like the Train, and Volcano levels. With a couple of other pretty good ones as well.

The bosses have always been a favorite part of the Megaman games for me. X5 has some of the best looking ones I've seen in the series, but they invole no strategy to beat, whatsoever. They basically just have you jumping around, hacking and slashing at them until they die. No challenger here, either, they die pretty easily, with a couple of exceptions. Atleast in X4, like Slash Beast for example: you had to slide or jump to avoid the green waves, slide under his lunging attacks, jump on the walls when he charges you, but most, if not all of the bosses here in X5 contain none of that sort of thing.

Abilities are nice in this game. You get the usual stuff seen in past games, and the chance to boost up your life, and weapon power up. Depending on the level of the boss you just defeated. Overall, I like the way they handled this, and it helps make the game overcome the bad parts a little.

I take off the 2.9 points for the poor-average levels, but it's not really low, because there's still four good, fun levels. I took off a little more because of Alia. She is the most annoying character ever, interrupting you a couple times a level with the annoying stuff. Bad idea on putting her blabber mouth in the game, Capcom. She does have some useful advice, but I'd rather discover it on my own; since when does the experienced X/Zero need advice? Then there's the weak, unimaginitive bosses. Just very poorly done in this game, but they do look really cool. I'm being a little generous here, I could have easily taken off even more points.

Replay Value: 6.5/10

The replay value takes a big drop off from X4. There's no different scenarios for each character, since you select whatever one you want for whatever level, the levels themselves are lacking, and overall, it's just not up to par in the fun department. Making it not very good in the Replay Value, either. Hardcore Megaman fans will probably play it more than once, that's the reason for the decent score, but it's not very good for the average fan. I will play through it a couple times, that's just because I am becoming a pretty big fan of these games.

Music: 8.8/10

This is a strong point in the game. The introduction is just brilliant; a slow melody starts, and then it roars into a speedy guitarish song. I love it! The level music is well done, as well. Good stuff all around. Not much to really say here, but you should enjoy it.

Graphics: 9.2/10

The usual Megaman stuff is here. Very nice looking 2D graphics. The level that impressed me the most was the Jungle level. It was very cool. Really just some great graphics through out the whole game. If you played a PSX Megaman game before, you know what to expect. If you're a fan of the 2D look like me, you will love it.

Overall(Not an average) 7.2/10

From reading this review, it might seem that I don't like this game that much, but really, it has some good things going for it. I was disappointed by the weak, unimaginite bosses, and some really lame levels the most, but if you can look past the bad, then you will find some really good stuff here, and some new stuff that hasn't been seen in the series. You might even like the levels I hated, making it an even better game for you. Don't pass this up if you're a Megman fan, or just a fan of good action games. At this price, you can't pass it up.

Note: If I could, I would give the game 3 and 1/2 stars, but Amazon doesn't allow that.

Megaman X5 is a great game. I don't know why everyone criticizes it so much. It has the same great megaman gameplay, the same great graphics the series is known for, the same amount of action, and a very high level of challenge. I've heard a lot of complaints about the game's difficulty, and yes, although it IS insanely difficult, how can you call yourself a megaman gamer if that isn't what you're looking for in a MMX game? I've also heard some criticism on the music. Sure, it's not fitting for megaman, but it's good enough on it's own, nothing worth complaining about like everyone does. And sure, the Guns 'N' Roses theme is tacky, but does that really change how the game plays?! Guns 'N' Roses theme or not, the bosses in this game are cool! I don't know why everyone hates this game. Could it be because they tried something new and made it so that you could only use armor after collecting all the pieces? Is it the absence of anime cutscenes(which, although disappointing, does NOT change the gameplay AT ALL)? Is it cuz the game is timed and has several branching plot points that make the game more immersive into the plot than the others? What is it?! I want some answers, people, cuz this is a good game! For those of you who have taken someone else's opinion as your own, at least TRY the game so you can see for yourself that it's a great game featuring the same great MMX gameplay we've all come to know and love and the interesting plot we've come to expect from megaman x!

Pros
- No mystery about the final boss as you fight Sigma in the opening level!
- Emphasis on Zero!
- Part customizing system
- More Armors (Falcon Armor, Gaea Armor, Ultimate Armor)
- Excellent plot depth
- Multiple endings

Cons
- Plot loopholes
- Inconsistent endings
- Timed gameplay
- Ranking system

Think of Mega Man X4 redone with more armors, deeper plotlines, and multiple endings, you've got X5.

Although this game is easier than most X games (more continue points, easy bosses), the armor customizing system is great. You can acquire parts for both X and Zero allowing you to enhance their abilities, such as rapid fire shots, higher jumping, shorter damage recoil and more. In addition to the Z-sabre, Zero has the Z-buster, which is barely useful though.

You start with the armor from X4 (Force Armor), thus the bosses are a little too easy with X, but still challenging with Zero as he has no armor. You later get Gaea Armor and Falcon Armor for X, and let me just say how awesome the latter is. You can also get Zero's black armor and X's ultimate armor without codes.

This game is judges your gameplay, meaning the faster you complete a stage, the less damage you take, the fewer enemies you defeat will increase your rank. In addition, the entire game is timed for 20 "hrs", wher every time you exit a stage you lose an "hour". Nevertheless, this new system is no big deal, as you will have plenty of time if you know what you're doing.

The plot sure does delve into Zero, rather than X. It hints to Dr. Wily many many many times.

If your a long time MMX fan, you'll notice allusions to previous games.

Definitely a game to play if you like side-scrollers and Mega Man X games.

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!

First, don't get me wrong: I love 2D space shooters and RPGs. 'Armada' is a mix of these fine genres, but it's a very poor mix. It fails as a shooter because it has bad controls and poor action; It fails as an RPG because story and characters are never developed.

And here's the most ridiculous thing: this game has no end. That's right: after you beat all missions, you just keep flying on space, fighting the aliens as if nothing had happened. What's the point of beating the game, then?

This may be 'Asteroids' on steroids, but that is not nearly enough to make it actually fun.

Finally, a return to old-school, 2D, top-down shooters. Add in RPG elements and 4-player action, and what more could you want?

So I thought. Armada was one of the three Dreamcast games I got for Christmas, and it is the one I have played the least (the others being Toy Commander and Tokyo Xtreme Racer). At first, it was fun, but it was also hard because I was so low-level. The problem is that it takes a very, very long time to gain levels. This trend is also in the buying parts element of the game: the parts are very expensive and it takes a long time to get enough money to buy upgrades. The whole game gets tedious and boring quickly.

In all fairness though, this game was meant to be played multiplayer over the Internet, but because Sega's network was not ready in time, this feature was removed. Therefore, the game is much more fun when you play with other players (it supports up to four). I have not yet been able to get three people to join in a game because everyone wants to play Soul Calibur or Crazy Taxi instead, so I'm missing out on the best part of Armada. This could be why I lost interest quickly.

In summary, if you enjoy shooters, have the time and patience to mindlessly level-up, or have some friends who are willing to play it with you, you should enjoy Armada. Otherwise, you might want to give it a rent. It's not a bad game; it's just mediocre.

To give you guys a better perspective on Armada, Let me tell you guys this..., I am just a causual pick-me-up-put-me-down gamer. I don't care much for seasons on sport games, nor do I care much about unlocking all the different costumes and art work on Soul Calibur. I don't know how many other people are like me, but for those who are... this review may help you decide on this game. I'm loving this game. I'm actually using my VMU to save more than just game configurations! Can you believe it! The controls are a bit difficult at first, but you'll be able to adapt pretty quickly. First off, this game reminds me of SubSpace, for those who never heard of it, it's pretty much like a multiplayer Asteroids type game. Add in a story-line. (which I don't care much for hehe) And you got yourself a time wasting game called Armada. The multiplayer action is awesome. My friends, who are very casual gamers, those who don't own a console, even enjoys this game. It's fun taking up all the credits for yourself. Take a look at this game, definite sleeper hit of the year. And for those who JUST want a pick-me-up-then-put-me-down kinda game.. Avoid this at all cost. Because you won't be able to -put-me-down-.

Really neat to see ants run through tunnels, have meetings, and dig. They can really work hard! Very durable, but carefull not to scratch it. All in all, a fun pet.

I think you have to view the Ant Farm as a product in three seperate stage.

1) You get the ant house and wait for the ants. The delay in receiving the ants is difficult (it made us all "antsy"? ) but we were pleased with how few dead ants there were on arrival. Think of it as a chance to read up on ant behavior....

2) The ants arrive and do their thing. Watching them build their tunnels was absolutely fascinating -- for a week. The adults in our house were just as fascinated as the children.

3) The decline and fall of an ant empire. After a week, we had a dramatic die off, despite rigerously following the instructions re. feeding, temperature, humidity, etc. Now we have ONE lone ant, wandering the tunnels, who has lived 4 weeks past the life of her companions. Kind of a sad end for a social creature, when you think about it....

Bottom line: If I had known 99% of our ants would die at the end of a week, I would not have invested [the money], but we enjoyed them while they were there.

Uncle Milton's Giant Ant Farm is a fun, interactive way to teach children ages 5 and up about unceasing, backbreaking toil and the cold, inescapable reality of death. My little ones had a front-row seat as worker ants labored, day in and day out, until they inevitably died of exhaustion, their futile efforts all for naught. The ant farm, complete with stackable tiny ant barns, see-through 'Antway' travel tubes, and connecting 'Antports,' is a child's window into the years of thankless, grueling labor that await them as worker drones in our post-industrial society. It's the fun way to teach your kids to accept their miserable fate stoically. The ants, which come separately from the farm, are bred in New Mexico and mailed directly to your home. Within days of arriving, a majority of the ants die at the hands of the small children responsible for regulating the temperature, humidity, and food supply in their delicate pseudo-ecosystem. Even under optimum conditions the ants survive no more than 20 weeks in the farm. As a result, children are assured the chance to contemplate the inescapability of their own mortality and the whole family will be reminded that the spectre of death hangs over every creature on this Earth. The lesson that the ants' labor is all in vain becomes clearer as time passes. During the first two to three weeks, the exclusively female worker ants are extremely productive, building an elaborate system of tunnels and hills amongst the miniature green trees and red plastic houses dotting the interior of the plastic dome. However, because neither male ants nor a fertile queen is provided with Uncle Milton's Giant Ant Farm, making reproduction impossible, the farm is doomed to extinction from day one. You'll learn such fascinating things about the natural world, like the fact that the social structure of an ant colony is extremely complex, with individual members occupying such castes as soldier, messenger, and larvae attendant. At some point, Uncle Milton's ants become cognizant that their hierarchical structure has been stripped away, rendering their already near-meaningless existence totally futile. There seems to be a breaking point at about the 22-day mark when the dejected ants begin to die off en masse. At this point the ant farm enters what is known as the "death-pile phase." A spot is chosen by the worker ants to deposit their dead, and the burial mound steadily grows as the few remaining ants devote more of their time to gathering and burying others. Yes, with Uncle Milton's Giant Ant Farm, arbeit macht fun!