Staff reviews, page 165

Staff PSP

PaRappa the Rapper review

Each opponent is quite bizarre. For example, you'll first face a karate master shaped like an onion. He busts rhymes about kicking and punching, and you have to respond in kind. The other key characters are a driving instructor that looks…

Jason Venter · September 27, 2007

Staff PlayStation 2 HG exclusive

Soul Nomad & The World Eaters review

Soul Nomad, much like Phantom Brave before it, tries very hard to tell a serious story while also purveying the jokes that it assumes Nippon Ichi fans can’t live without. The result is a game that lurches awkwardly from dramatic to goofy…

Alicia Ashby · September 25, 2007

Staff Xbox 360 HG exclusive

Warriors Orochi review

Warriors Orochi is a Japanese boy's craziest fantasy come true. It combines the greatest Chinese heroes from Romance, the strongest Japanese warriors from historical samurai epics, and mashes them all together in a battle against SERPENT…

Zigfried · September 24, 2007

Staff Xbox 360 HG exclusive

Two Worlds review

In the single-player campaign, you play as a mercenary whose main goal is to save his sister. Early in the game, you're approached by a black-clad warrior and told to find the Goat's Cave south of the small village your quest begins in. I…

Kyle Stepp · September 22, 2007

Staff DS HG exclusive

Worms: Open Warfare 2 review

Even though there's an effective tutorial at the onset of the game (which you can skip if you're so inclined), getting a handle on the destructive implements available can prove difficult. Options like the flaming fist that lets you knock…

Jason Venter · September 21, 2007

Staff PC HG exclusive

Sid Meier's Pirates! - Live the Life review

Sacking formerly prosperous colonies into fiery ruin alongside your crew of drunken buccaneers, forcing snooty enemy captains to walk the plank after making off with their fancy doo-dads, or showing a buxom doxy just how you got the name…

Sho · September 19, 2007

Staff PlayStation 2 HG exclusive

Stuntman Ignition review

I drove a monster truck off a ramp and crashed into a water tower. I hit the nitro and plowed my James Bond-like vehicle through a collapsing cavern of ice. I nailed a cork-screw jump and spun my Night Avenger car *cough* Batmobile *cough*…

Greg Knoll · September 18, 2007

Staff PC

American Civil War - The Blue and the Gray review

The Blue and the Gray is a turn-based strategy title spanning the length of the Civil War. As the player, you may freely chose to command the armies of either the Union in the north, or the Confederate States in the south, and indeed, one…

Will Roy · September 18, 2007

Staff NES HG exclusive

R.C. Pro-Am II review

Now instead of finding a few simple upgrade icons littering the track, you can snag money bags. These allow you to outfit your vehicle as you see fit, whether that be in the form of improved tires that let you take tighter corners or more…

Jason Venter · September 16, 2007

Staff NES

Duck Tales review

Duck Tales works so well because it remains faithful to the adventurous spirit that made its source material such a resounding success. After selecting a stage, you're dropped into what at first feels like just another level from any…

Jason Venter · September 15, 2007

Staff PC HG exclusive

UFO: Aftermath review

Aftermath tries a more cinematic approach to TBSing that could have worked if it wasn’t lost in the background.

Gary Hartley · September 15, 2007

Staff PlayStation 3 HG exclusive

Heavenly Sword review

With such a high standard set, it shouldn't come as a surprise that gameplay doesn't hold up its end of the bargain. It does come close, though. The main problem is that Nariko spends most of her game carrying a sword capable of standing…

Jason Venter · September 15, 2007

Staff Turbografx-CD HG exclusive

Last Alert review

>Last Alert places you in the boots of "one man army" Guy Kazama, as he embarks on the Turbo CD's equivalent of Schwarzenegger's entire action movie library smashed together into a single disc. Upon first glance, this appears to be a…

Zigfried · September 15, 2007

Staff PC HG exclusive

UFO: Aftershock review

The odds are stacked against you, yes. But when you can freeze the odds where they stand and think your way around them, it's not so overwhelming. Few games manage to portray the same sense of complexity that UFO Aftershock does. And even…

Josh Higley · September 14, 2007

Staff SNES HG exclusive

Rudra no Hihou review

Rudra no Hihou is a powerful game capable of being one of Squaresoft's best. It'll give you a rare challenge like barely any RPG since has been able to accomplish. It'll give you beautiful graphics, some of the best on the SNES. It'll give…

Kyle Stepp · September 14, 2007

Staff PlayStation 2 HG exclusive

Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas review

Simply put, this game is HUGE — so large that a representation of one of America’s largest cities only takes up one corner of its world. Also in the game are San Fierro (San Francisco), Las Venturas (Las Vegas) and miles upon miles of the…

Rob Hamilton · September 14, 2007

Staff PlayStation 2 HG exclusive

Ikki Tousen: Shining Dragon review

Ikki Tousen: Shining Dragon is a terrible game about a bunch of DD-cup ladies running around beating people up, and it doesn't even do a decent job of showing off their DD cups. If you're looking for a decent import brawler, I suggest you…

Zigfried · September 12, 2007

Staff PlayStation 2 HG exclusive

Ikki Tousen: Ikki Tochi! review

This game which takes 20 seconds to load, this game which occupies the same amount of space as Panzer Dragoon Zwei or Guardian Heroes, is shorter, more frustrating, and less entertaining than similar titles on the NES or Atari 2600.

Zigfried · September 12, 2007

Staff PSP HG exclusive

Final Fantasy II review

You plan in most games to survive, and that's interesting. In Final Fantasy II, you do it because you want to beef up your weak ice spell instead of your ax. There's no sense of urgency and that gets tedious. You'll dread running into…

Jason Venter · September 11, 2007

Staff Turbografx-CD HG exclusive

Might and Magic review

Might and Magic is an easy game to recommend, but not in this particular format. NEC clearly wanted to expand on the game's main storyline, they clearly wanted to infuse the epic gameplay with a presentation to match, but — either through…

Zigfried · September 8, 2007