Sunday, July 2, 2006

Game Review - Hitman – Contracts

Author:
Naiboss

Date:
2/7/2006

"When you kill for money, there are no rules, only contracts to be executed"... Or so the tag line claims! Hitman Contracts is, to put it simply, just an excuse to string together a number of Hitman missions that couldn't fit into a 'bigger picture'. There is no plot to this game... but this is not necessarily a bad thing! While the improvements over Hitman 2 are so subtle that you'll most likely miss them, the game is still great fun… there are some great locations, plenty of bad guys to kill, numerous ways to do so and some interesting set pieces. A lot of the missions did feel quite short and while I might expect this from some of the earlier missions (the first mission can be completed in just a couple of minutes without firing a single shot!) the very last mission proved to be one of the easiest and shortest!!! If you enjoyed the last Hitman game, you’ll enjoy this one but I’d recommend playing it on a slightly higher difficulty level. While there have been additions to your arsenal, I did find that most of it went unused, preferring to stick to my trusty Silenced Silverballer or Fiberwire instead. Even when the going got tough, alarms were ringing and the guards were tripping over each other to get to me, the Silverballers often proved far more effective than grabbing an MP5 or shotgun… but then I guess that depends on your accuracy as ammo for the Silverballers in normally fairly sparse. That said, it’s always fun to run round with the silenced Uzi or sit in a window somewhere with the W2000 Sniper Rifle but only certain missions contain these. A good game all round but I do worry that the Hitman series is starting to suffer the ‘Eidos Effect’ that polluted the Tomb Raider series… If you’re going to release an expansion pack (which is what this feels like a times), please make sure the price tag reflects this! How long till Hitman 4? Not long I suspect… In the meantime, you can get the Hitman Contracts Demo here -> http://www.fileplanet.com/files/130000/139974.shtml

Score: 4 out of 5

Game Review - City of Heroes

Author:
Naiboss

Date:
2/7/2006

Have you EVER wanted to be a super hero? Be able to fly? Fry bad guys with an assortment of super powers? Then this is the game for you!!! I've played quite a few online-only games; Ultima Online, Asheron's Call 1 & 2, Everquest, EVE Online, Saga of Ryzom, Star Wars Galaxies, etc... the list goes on and on... so I think I can safely say, this is the first online game of its type! There is no PvP (at the moment), there is no equipment to buy/sell/craft, no vehicles/mounts, no houses, no 'realistic economy', no higher power... and it's great! Character creation is simple; Choose an origin (how you got your powers) from a list of five, then choose the type of hero you are from another list of five. These two choices will dictate which super powers are available to you. Once you've done this, you can then pick your primary and secondary powers. The list of powers is vast, from your bog-standard blasting powers like fire and ice, through the up-close-and-personal weaponry like swords and claws, to the more mystical powers like mind and weather control! However you feel like inflicting your justice… there’ll be something to keep you happy! The best part, however, is the next part where you get to choose what your character looks like... and the choice is immense! While there may only be three basic body shapes (Male, female and huge) the variety of costumes, colours and accessories almost ensures that no two heroes will ever look alike! When you’ve managed to create your colourful alter-ego it’s on to the game… The idea is simple, run/fly around the city either completing missions given to you by your contacts or just frying bad guys wherever you seen them (fortunately this appears to be a city rife with street crime). The city is split up into various zones, which makes it much easier to pick an area relative to your skill level… whether you are a low level player going solo or a high level player with a team of friends, you’ll always find somewhere to go and bad guys to fry! The more bad guys and missions you defeat, the more experience and influence you acquire. Experience, once it reaches a certain level, allows you to advance in levels and pick new powers. Influence can be used to buy improvements to your powers (more accurate, more damage etc…) or temporary boosts. And as you advance in level, your powers will become more effective so even the ones you picked during character creation remain useful! However, there is a drawback to such fun, casual gaming… the appeal could be quite limiting. There are only so many different types of bad guy to kill, zones to visit and powers to obtain. For this game to last long term, it is going to need a regular boost of new content… and they have yet to disappoint! Already there have been three new groups of villains, two new zones and some new additions to the missions, and with the first expansion, City of Villains, on the way (for thos

Game Review - Shanghai Street Racing

Author:
Naiboss

Date:
2/7/2006

Pants! Buy NFS Most Wanted and see how it SHOULD be done! That's all I have to say (I've already wasted too many words on this game!).

Score: 1 out of 5

Game Review - Disciples II - The Rise of the Elves

Author:
Naiboss

Date:

Body:

Can you say "Heroes of Might and Magic"? This is the spitting image of the Heroes series... the same turn-based playing and combat, the same city/village progression, etc... Almost everything is identical save the actual heroes and creatures (and even then, they are very similar). This is not to say that's a bad thing; the Heroes series is very good... but you do have to ask why bother when it's already been done? If you've played all of the Heroes series and you're just looking for more of the same then look no further. If you've not played this sort of game before I can only suggest picking up a copy of Heroes of Might and Magic III for £4.99 from Play.com instead of 'investing' in this title. If you are planning on playing this game I would recommend you free up plenty of time (and I'm talking days/weeks, not hours). Just like the Heroes game, it takes a very long time to play. In fact, this is one area where this game DOES differ as I think it takes even LONGER!!! This is because you are limited to single units instead of groups of units, and a maximum of five to each 'Hero' (depending on their leadership ability). These units acquire experience after victorious battles and (if you have the correct building) will advance to bigger and better units. The only problem with this is that if your unit is killed or injured during a battle, you can often find yourself having to take several turns to find a friendly village or city where you can resurrect them. This is a pain and adds quite significantly to the amount of time it takes to complete a campaign. It is possible to heal your units on the move, but this requires expensive potions and cash is fairly tight! All in all a tidy package (if a little long-winded) but I’ll stick to the Heroes games thanks!

Score: 3 out of 5

Game Review – Sitting Ducks

Author:
Naiboss

Date:
2/7/2006

I'm guessing that there is a cartoon somewhere that this is based on?!? Not a bad game all in all. A fairly typical run/jump/collect 3D game. The cartoon graphics and sound are well done, the controls are competent, unfortunately the 'camera' position can often become a problem... especially when you are whizzing along on your skateboard as you can't see what you're about to hit whenever you turn! Some of the 'missions' are actually quite hard... or maybe I'm getting too old :P It's similar in style to The Simpsons Hit n' Run... but I'd suggest sticking to Bart and co if you've already got it as this didn't keep me interested for long...

Game Review - Angels Vs Devils

Author:
Naiboss

Date:
2/7/2006

Take Quake III Arena... Take away the speed. Take away the destructive weaponry and replace it with rather pathetic good/evil based 'spells'. Take away the cool characters and replace them with good/evil CHERUBS. Then take away this game and burn it! Perhaps I didn't give it enough of a chance... but quite frankly, I fail to see any reason to do so... Let it burn!

Score: 1 out of 5