Science Reviews

TMNT: The Radical Rescue is not just a game of run to the right, kill the monster, grab the pizza or weapon and proceed to the boss. In fact, it's very much like Metroid in that it's very complex. That is to say don't expect to just walk in and then walk on out again, 'cuz you ain't gonna be able to! These labyrinthine passages and caverns can be confusing as hell, and there are traps waiting for you around every corner. One plot twist this game has that the others in the series never did is that when you first start the game you have only one turtle, Michaelangelo. Hence the name Radical Rescue. You must rescue not only April O'Neil, but your green pals as well. Each of them has a special move, and no, it ain't just a lame ripoff of the same move. Mike, for instance, can spin his Nunchuks like the roters on a helicopter, and yes he can float by doing this. It's useful in some boss fights. Leo has a drilling move that'll allow you to access more areas once you rescue him. Raphael can retreat into his shell and reach other areas by crawling. Donatello...well...let's just say he's got a lot in common with a certain Castlevanian pirate. He can climb walls, which not only helps in reaching hard to reach places, but also can be handy in boss fights when you're low on health or just want to conserve it while kicking serious ass. Another thing I like is the completely new caste of boss characters. Have you any idea how wonderful it is not to be facing the same old caste of Beabop, Rocksteady, Backster and Krang? Shredder of course still puts in an appearance, but he has like two forms (no I haven't fought him). To name a few bosses you'll face, Scratch, Dirtbag, Triceraton and Scale Tail.Oh yeah, and another thing this game has that none of the others do is a password system. You will recieve 7-character passwords throughout your journey, which will start you at whatever area you happen to be in. Also, if you set the final character of any password to 2 it will insure that you have two continues. If you're having trouble against a boss and don't wanna treck all the way from the beginning, there are passwords that will start you right next to all but the last boss (the final password starts you at what I will refer to as the Gauntlet where you fight each boss over again), so you can be sure you're fully charged.
The controls are excellent and work well. All the moves are easy to pull off.
The music...well...let's just say it's groovy even if it's not varied. The boss theme can become a little monotonous after a while, but the music in the areas right before each boss is excellent. The classic TMNT song plays at a few points in the game, but it mostly has a kind of dark...not really ominous feel to it that fits the types of areas you're exploring, which are deserted mines and factories and places like that. The SFX leave something to be desired, but it's not as though the Game Boy has what one would call top quality audio hardware.
Definitely give this game a try. It's well worth it.

We threw my son a 17 kid 5 year old birthday party. Of all the presents he received, including those from parents, grandparents, aunts, etc. This was by far his favorite. (Thanks Jake!) It doesn't beep, honk, or make any noise :) It is made very well and comes with several cool accessories. We are out to find the matching Explorer's Watch. Awesome gift.

I bought this for my 4 yr old last summer and he used it all summer long. It has a durable hook-and-loop strap and the top snaps very securely. It works best for very small insects such as ladybugs, lovebugs, and crickets. My son has even put very tiny frogs in it. Insects such as dragonflies and butterflies are too large for it. It also came with a plastic toy bug in it and he loved using the fake bug to scare grandparents and other relatives.

this game is totally rad dudes, it's a must have for all those gnarly aggressive sk8rz out there, this game is like tonyhawk x's5. It's definitley worth having. The tricks are all up to date, like frontsides and backsides and unity's, killer huh? thanks for reading my review. later bros. dude

When I heard about this game, the first thing I thought was "This looks like GoldenEye in 3rd Person!" When I rented it later, I found I was correct, but that was the ONLY similiarity the two games share. An arsenal ranging from head-cutting Shurikens to the almighty Tri-Rocket Launcher gvae me many ways to eliminate my foes. The AI is also very smart, with the ants taking cover, ganging up on you, even surrendering if you can take out a bug gang FAST. The Racing Minigame helped keep my friends' interest for quite a while. 3 Characters to play, each with their own special Abilities (I won't say) made this game better than great. As well, the final boss, Mizar, was actually HARD. Try fighting Ganondorf from Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, and you'll find he's a pushover (LoZ is beyond perfect though). In JFG, however, I had to actually EARN my ending by fighting a really difficult end boss. The downsides were few and quickly overshadowed by the better parts. One thing was the cutscenes. Each took a while, and all the while, my trigger finger was itching badly. The Cutscenes look very nice though; watching your ship land (and occasionally you see them walking away after the landing) kept my mind off the length for a while. Another thing is the 285 Tribals (Complete with prerequsite N64 cuteness) you have to rescue. I found that if I accidentally killed even one, I would have to start the level over. I found that a pain at the beginning levels, but in the later levels, when you have even more firepower, it's actually fun to blow through the entire guantlet again. Replay value isn't much, but that's because it mostly comes in returning to earlier levels with much, MUCH heavier firepower. Overall, this game is one of the very best games made for the N64. If you have the money, go ahead and buy it. At the very least, rent it and hope you have some Cola with you; you'll be glued to your N64 until you can finish this masterpiece!

Thanks for reading this far down.

Jet Force Gemini is an amazing mix of GoldenEye, Zelda, and Starship Troopers. You play as the Gemini Squadron, made up of Juno, his twin sister Vela, and their cyber enhanced dog Lupus (picture the 6 million dollar K9). Their newest mission is to save the Tribals, a race of cuddly little bear-Ewok things, from Mizar and his army of killer bug drones. You are armed with several bug-splattering weapons, like a JFG Pistol, Homing Missile Launcher, Sniper Rifle, Heat Seeking Shurikens, and my personal favorite, the Tri-Rocket Launcher, which sends three rockets hurtling toward your target. With killer graphics, an amazing soundtrack, plenty of hard puzzles, and hilarious jokes and places (like the Big Bug Fun Club, where there are bouncers, a DJ, and a lot of disco dancing drones, plus an arcade), Jet Force Gemini is the best video game of 1999, and an instant classic.

I love this game. Altough I own a Playstation 2 and an Xbox, this is my favorite game on any console. The graphics are awesome, while the story draws you in. After defeating Mizar, you feel accomplished. Being able to play three people in a campaign feels good (really good when you unlock advanced versions of the characters late in the game). The multiplayer is also very very good--four people running around blowing each other up in many levels. There is also a racing game bonus that is unexpectedly fun. With different weapon sets and tons of playable characters with special abilities I can only hope they make a sequel (and maybe an AI bot feature). I'm eleven years old and I own many games. This is my favorite, as all my friends can see because the N64 is hooked up to a portable TV in my room which I take on road trips along with the N64. If you are thinking about buying a first person shooter, you should definitely consider this. Others just want the best graphics, or something on a newer console (Playstation 2, Xbox, or Gamecube), but in my opinion Jet Force Gemini is better than anything for those platforms.

I got this game with a multipack and it rocks!!! But just kind of a little hard but I like it.

I was introduced to this game while helping out in an elementary school computer class (yeah, I'm technically a grown-up). It's an engaging way to teach logic skills, and the puzzles are a lot of fun. I agree that there are a LOT of Zoombinis to save (the purpose of the game)and that once you've mastered the higher levels it's a bit tedious to keep playing the harder versions of the puzzles, especially if there are any you don't like to begin with.

On the other hand, this game is wonderful for a variety of age groups (some of the younger kids may need some help figuring out the logic behind the puzzles), for different ethnicities (the Zoombinis are blue), and genders (most of the characters are somewhat ambiguous on gender, and the Zoombinis are all equal). I've seen it played solo, and in groups, with equally enjoyable results. And there are a number of resources available for educators, parents, etc. to help your kids make meaning from the games they are playing.

All in all, this is a must for any elementary/middle school computer educator, and a highly recommended for parents who want their kids to use computers as a tool as well as a toy.

This extraordinary entertaining software filled with logic puzzles makes students use their critical and math thinking skills without the use of numbers or math operations. I liked the fact that students can receive excellent practice with recognizing patterns, forming and testing hypotheses, analyzing data, comparison, and etc. This software program is relatively free of stereotypes and bias because the Zoombinis are not like people but tiny, delightful, blue characters each with its own characteristics and are created by the students using this program. Each of the four levels becomes more challenging as students move through the puzzling program. The solutions to the puzzles are different every time the program is used which makes students wanting to play this program again and again. The students do not realize that they are using their critical and math thinking skills when solving these puzzles. The challenging puzzles are visually and mentally captivating and extremely fun to do. Even my adult basic education students are challenged figuring out how to solve the puzzles!

This game is definitely the worst game I have ever played, and believe me, I've played hundreds!! This game is soooooo boring and I don't understand it at all!!!! The graphics are blocky and the music is sooo annoying!! I set this game aside as soon as I played it for five minutes!!!! This game is NOT worth the money! If you want a good game, I'd recomend "Final Fantasy X" expecially, or "Harvest Moon."

To wit, this game quite fun. Since my game play style tends towards using the analog controller whenever I can, this game seems to be custom made for myself. And of course it is. It's a pretty neat concept having the monkeys (I don't think the manual writer did a lot of research on monkeys since the book uses "baboons," "apes," and " chimps" interchangeably) escape from the zoo and having your job to chase down and capture them. Nice non violent plot really, one of the very few games that I buy and my girlfriend is willing to play.

And while the game has a nice plot, the programmers also spent a little time on the graphics in the game. Since the PSX is showing its age there is only so much any programmer can do. But the programers did a very good job. The smooth graphics, "large" worlds and a grand variety of scenes make this game a delight to explore (Never mind the obvious use of some of Sony's stock SDK files, usually evident by the "Pa Rappa" look in some areas). Throw in a huge variety of weapons and usable "tools" make this a winning formula indeed. In fact it is likely that after the PSX goes the way of the Atari 7800 that this game will be one of the reasons that die hard fans of the PSX will dust off that gray box (Or blue if they upgrade to the PSX2) and play a few levels. However, I have one major gripe.

It shocks me that many people consider the Ape Escape camera to be nice and well behaved. This camera is one of the most ill-behaved I've come across in a long time. Just what are some people comparing this camera to? Super Mario 64? If that's the case, then that's a hard judge. SM64's camera was pretty bad but at least it was aware of walls and didn't go behind them too often. Ape Escape's camera not only goes behind walls but it goes through them as well! Haven't the programmers at least heard of a "Jelly Cam"? C'Mon, there are numerous examples out there of what to do and what not to do with the camera. Ones with decent (mind you, decent, not perfect) camera's include Spyro 2, MDK 2, and Zelda 64. All of these games had cameras that were somewhat well behaved (although none show the classic "Jelly Cam," A Jelly Cam is a camera that when it goes through a wall turns the wall, or anything else, into a semitransparent entity. You know it's there but at least you can see what's going on on the other side.) AE does not fall into that category. I can't tell you how many times I've run back and forth in a level looking for a way out only to discover the camera wasn't "swinging" in an appropriate direction. Some pundits may tell you that only adds to the difficulty of the game. Someone should remind them of the difference between skilled difficulty and annoying frustration. Never, Never should any one ever lose a life because the camera wasn't doing a good job of showing what is happening around you. "How about blind spots?" Some may ask. What about them? It is very possible to design a game and camera to allow the classic "leap of fate." My gripe lies with the camera refusing to shift at appropriate times so that I can at least survive the darn jump! Or Shifting to an appropriate angle to allow a fair fight against a baddie. All to often I'm getting pummeled by a monkey with a machine gun or rockets simply because the stupid camera doesn't know enough to swing around a column. And using buttons to "fix" the camera's faults is a cheap trick. Sorry Sony, A big company like your self should know better.

This game gets three stars due the rotten camera work. If the programmers spent more time with this crucial element then the game would certainly win five stars. Too bad Sony, the frustration with the camera is simply too high. For those who think the camera works "perfect" play a few more games for comparison.

While I regard the Crash Bandicoot series the premiere platformers for the Playstation, I was pleasantly surprised with Ape Escape. Hunting down monkeys is such a hilarious concept it makes we wonder why nobody thought of it before. Overall, I found the game to be very well-designed, fun, and addictive. The graphics, while not as pretty as Crash Bandicoot or Spyro, grow on you after a short amount of time. The developers made optimal use of the Dual Shock controller, more so than any other company. Control is perfect. I also found that, compared to many other 3D games, the in-game camera caused me very few problems. To make it easier for younger players, the game levels are littered with helpful hints. While not a huge game--it can be finished in about a week--the three mini-games that are eventually opened up are a ton of fun and add longevity to the title. What I found most amazing is that each of the game's 204 monkeys has a unique name and personality. A tremendous amount of creative energy went into this title. You want to complete 100% of the game just to see every square inch of each level. If I can find any fault with the game at all, it's that you must complete the levels in a linear fashion. Other than that, it's an unusual and highly enjoyable platformer. Highly recommended.

This is by far one of the most boring RTS games I have ever played, and I have played alot of them.

Just like in most RTS games, you have to collect resources. I spent most of my time waiting for the resource collectors to bring the resource. It was so boring. The single player mission was spent over half the time waiting. Waiting for resources. Waiting for your ships to build. Waiting for researches to finish.

The graphics were ok, but given the fact this was a 1999 game, I can see where the graphics would have been pretty good though I believe Total Annihilation, Starcraft, and especially Age Of Empires (which all 3 came out before Homeworld) looked better. The ships looked cool, but if you zoomed in on them, they looked pixally. And the cutscenes were just ok. It was cool to be able to see a 360 view of every ship though.

The battles weren't anything spectacular. You couldn't really see of hear any of the fighting going on. Just the same droning music over and over (the music was cool the first few missions, but gets rather boring later). It was also impossible to follow the battles as your camera follows one of units or the other.

The best thing about this game was the story. The story goes like this: A spaceship was found buried in sand here on Earth. Using that technology and the history found on the ship, they built their own ships so that they could head to their real Homeworld. As the story unfolds and new enemies and friends are made, the story keeps this game going. At least for me, that is the only reason I continued to play this game.

I read all of the reviews on many gamesites including Gamespot and Gamespy and many of the reviews here, and maybe my expectations were high, but one review said that no has since done what homeworld has done. And I believe the reason is who would want to. The idea about completely 3D space game is good in concept, but it takes away from the gameplay too much. This is definitely nothing like the games I mentioned before, but having played over 50 RTS games, this one didn't do it for me.

Next up is Homeworld Cataclysm. I bought all 3 Homeworld games at the same time because the price was cheap. So I don't feel like I was cheated too much. Game wasn't for me, but maybe it is for you.

I have played many Real Time Strategy games which use a Real-Time 3D architecture. But this game uses it the best of all. The controls are very easy to understand. You Can move the camera around simply by holding down the righ mouse button and moving the camera around. Hold both mouse buttons or use the mouse wheel if you have one to zoom in and out. And because the action is entirely in space, you don't have a ground to block your camera movement as you do in many other RTS games that use RT3D. There are many different usits you can use. Strike craft like Scouts, interceptors and attack bombers. Corvettes like light, heavy and salvage corvettes. Frigates like ion beam, support and attack frigates. And capital ships like Destroyers, missile destroyers and heavy cruisers. I gave this game 4 stars because it does have 2 weaknesses. 1 is in the 1 players games, both sides have the same storyline to follow. And 2, because its RT3D, the game tends to slow down on some systems if more units become present in play. But all in all, this game is very good. The only other game I can recommend is the standalone expansion, Homeworld cataclysm. And check out my book on this site too ;)

When playing any other real-time combat game the main problem is the lack of depth during battles. Any player of Warcraft of Starcraft knows what I'm saying. Instead of just having a bunch of units go head-to-head on a 2D plane, this game lets you take it a step further. Ships can engage from any angle and you can even choose their formations. You can set them to evasive to dodge incoming fire, or tell them to go all out and even kamikaze if necessary. Each strikecraft and capital ships has its own strengths and weaknesses. Ion class frigates decimate fighters, but they get massacred by larger ships. A good amount of small strikecraft can also deal serious damage if used properly. The balance of combat in this game is perfect and it's a must have for anybody that enjoys RTS games. Also see the original Homeworld game. They're basically Starcraft taken to the next level.

I bought one of these for my sons bithday from a local Toys R Us store and we love it. we found that the bugs will stick to windows and mirrors well if left just a little tacky.

The problem of finding GoopFX is driving me crazy. I can't find the GoopFX anywere so I called the manufacture who says they have plenty of it but the stores aren't stocking it along with new molds and they don't have an online store to sell it. The manufacture is supposed to do some research for a supplier but I have yet to hear back from them.

Good looking bugs can still be made with the regular goop but detailing them takes some practice. All in all a realy cool toy as long as they keep the goop coming.

My 5 year old daughter received this toy from a friend for Christmas last year. She thought it was the coolest toy. When we brought the toy home and opened it...there was no bulb, and nowhere open on Christmas to buy one. When we were finally able to get a bulb for the toy the next day, much to her disappointment, it takes approximately 10-12 minutes to "cook" the bugs and another 12-15 minutes for the machine to cool down so the door can be opened (safety feature). She was not very happy with having to wait almost a half an hour for one spider to be made. Needless to say, she dosen't play with that toy much now.

My 8 year old loves having creepy bugs to play with and once we lessened the cooking time (after talking with the products customer service department, which was very helpful) we got the bugs to look very colorful. However, it is very difficult for him to squeeze the bottles by himself - smaller holes help with making better details, which he also has trouble doing - so I tend to do all the work, with his input. We are also dispointed that the FX Goop that is thicker and supposed to be used for filling in the legs and all the detailing like lines, spots, eyes, etc. does not come in many colors (we got pink, yes - PINK! Not a favorite of boys!). It also can not be purchased seperately like the Plastic Goop, the only way to get more FX Goop is to purchase the bug machine or the mold packs - each which only include one small tube.

I played FFI when i was around 5 years old. I am now 20 and was very excited to hear that they were re-releasing FF1 with FF2. I had played the japanese version of FF2, but never got anywhere.

The only unfortunate thing about this release, is that FF2 is just plain boring. The leveling system they have has too many holes in it, and leaves for extremely stale game play. You have to cast a spell a total of 50 times just to get it leveled up once. Very tedious. The enemies are extremely easy to kill, and the graphics were not even up to par with Final Fantasy 4 and 6.

But FF1 makes up for all of these mistakes. The remake is immaculate. The only thing i dont like is some renaming of enemies, but you'll get over it. The graphics are MUCH better than FF2, showing that FF2 was more of an add on than something they really put their heart into.

FF1 also has great gameplay that can only be compared to final fantasy 4 and 6. I feel these are the three greatest games in the series, although i do enjoy 8-10 quite a bit, but they just dont have that special place in my heart. If you haven't played FF1 then spend the 30 dollars on this re-release, it is perfect. If you are just expecting to play FF2 like i did . . . then forget it . . . really dissapointed in that.

5 stars for FF1, 2 For FF2 . . . i gave it all a 3.

Final Fantasy was always fantastic, but had a few quirks that decreased the game's enjoyment level. Thankfully, Square has finally ironed out those problems. For example, you can now hold many items in your inventory, eliminating the need to sell off valuable equipment. In the NES version, I can remember selling key items such as the Sun sword, Were sword, Ice Armor and Flame Armor; these are helpful throughout the game when fighting the appropriate enemies. In addition, you can now switch equipment in battle, which is great because you rarely know beforehand which enemies you will face, and consequently, which weapons or armor you will need.

The storyline is clearer, and you can see all of your characters during key dialogue sequences (similar to every other Final Fantasy game). Square has upgraded the graphics a notch. The game auto-targets in the fashion of other FF games. There is a fantastic FMV scene at the beginning of the game. There are plot-advancing scenes interspersed with the action. These are a few of the changes, all of which connect you better with the story and gameplay.

Verdict: zero percent frustration, 100 percent fun. Five stars out of five.

If you were the biggest FF fan in the world, (which there's no chance that you are) then you would love this game(s). You could only be the biggest FF fan if you played and like all the games, but you obviously didn't. So there's no way you could be the biggest FF fan. Don't get me wrong; I'm not saying that I am the biggest FF fan, but you sure as hell aren't, because this is a good game(s). Plus, it's originally for SNES! (If your that stupid, it means Super Nintendo Entertainment System)
Of course the graphics aren't good! But if your a real FF fan, you can focus on the game story, not on the graphics!!