When this game was first shown at E3 in 2003, it was under the name "Advance Wars: Under Fire". It soon became "under fire" for using the name of the Game Boy MicRo turn based strategy series and slapping it on a real time strategy game. It was soon renamed "Battalion Wars", and was eventually released on September 22nd, 2005. So, how is the game itself?
The gameplay consists of switching between unit types (your basics are Rifle, Bazooka, Assault, and Flamethrower) to bring down the forts and soldiers in the diabolical Tundran Alliance. You switch between unit types using the C-Stick. Unfortunately, you must constantly switch, because most of your units were programmed with Extreme Pussy A.I. But, your enemy is always smart enough to capture your forts.
As you can tell, the gameplay frustrates me. But, the game is fun. It's solid and intuitive. And while your soldiers might not be so smart, they can really save your ass in the heat of battle. I like this game. I own this game. But...it's not great enough to earn a Game Of the Moment award.
7.9/10.
In the early 90's, two action games were released in the Mortal Kombat series were released. They featured horrible graphics, poor controls, and frustrating gameplay. Does the "Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks" deliver? Well...not really.
You can play as either Lio Kang or Kung Lao in the game. But choose wisely, because you ain't changing charactars after you choose. You then fight your way through boring and repetitive beat-em-up levels using the same attacks and fatalities over and over again.
The fighting system, while sometime intuitive, is not paticurally deep. You mash button after button to take down the similar-looking enemies. Some puzzles are unique, but since the controls are so screwed up, they just suck.
The game could've been great. And while it's not as bad as "Sub-Zero Mythologies" or "Mortal Kombat Special Forces", I think it deserves to burn in hell with those titles. It's a decent rental for hardcore fans, but all else...stay away.
5.5/10.
When "Resident Evil 4" came out in late 2004, it officially set the bar for survival horror games. People are starting to expect games that can surpass that game. So, when I tell you that a "Resident Evil 2" style has just been released for the PS2 and Xbox, you're turned off aren't you? Well, please don't be. Because this game is the pleasant surprise of 05.
In "Obscure", you play as a group of high school kids locked inside their closed school. Why is the school closed, you ask? Because of the hordes of unstopable demons. Being in the school and switching between all of the kids makes for a very unique experience.
Now, what's a sur-ho game without some shooting. We got it. There are a few guns laying around the school, and any of the kids can use them. The aiming system is suprisingly good, surpassing that of the classic RE games.
The game only costs $20, which is awesome considering that this is better than some $50 horror games. This game is a must-play for any sur-ho fan, as well as anyone looking for a fresh experience, or just a cheap bastard with little money.
9.3/10. WINNER: Game of the Moment Award
My apologies for the lack of updates. I have been working on some stuff for the site, but I haven't been feeling well lately. Anyway, expect reviews of "Battalion Wars", "Shaolin Monks" and "Obscure" fairly soon. (Probably one of them will be done by today.). Until then, please enjoy the updated News section and check out the sites in the Links section.
In 2002, N-Space announced that it would be developing a first-person shooter in which you would play as a ghost who could possess guards, animals, and other objects. Here we are, 3 years later, and it’s finally out. Nintendo published this gritty FPS, and it seems they made a good choice, as this game is pretty damn good. You play as Jonathan Raimi, an agent who has been tasked with infiltrating the mysterious Volks Corporation to retrieve top-secret viral data. Raimi is captured in the process, and tests are run on him. In one of these tests, his soul is separated from his body. After floating around, he discovers that there are some evil plans going down at Volks. During the game, you will posess everything from bowls of dog food to half-naked female employees. So, on to the fun factor and appearence. The graphics appear to be slightly dated at first glance, but it becomes clear how nice they look after a little bit of gameplay. The fun factor is high in this adventure. It's really fun to possess things. However, not everything can be taken over. I would've liked to see a little bit of freedom of how to scare your enemies, instead of the linear "find out how to scare them" missions. But, I'll take it. Overall, this game is one to buy. If you have a GameCube, buy it. 8.5/10. WINNER: Game of the Moment Award
