Review Archives (Staff Reviews)

You are currently looking through staff reviews for games that are available on every platform the site currently covers. Below, you will find reviews written by all eligible authors and sorted according to date of submission, with the newest content displaying first. As many as 20 results will display per page. If you would like to try a search with different parameters, specify them below and submit a new search.

Available Reviews
	The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time / Master Quest review (GCN) Reviewed on May 15, 2003 For veterans of the original, the dungeons become all new challenges (sometimes extremely frustrating ones), with different sequences necessary for progression and a horde of remixed enemies throughout—for instance, where there might have been a few keese in Ocarina of Time, there now stands a Stalfos.
	Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow review (GBA) Reviewed on May 13, 2003 Nothing feels particularly refreshing. You've seen all the tricks before, they impressed you at the time, and now there's this overwhelming sense of deja vu. Some of the absolute coolest bosses in the game, for example, feel like they were ripped straight out of Castlevania: Symphony of the Night. Which makes sense, as they obviously were.
	Rayman 3 review (GBA) Reviewed on May 01, 2003 Even more impressive are the numerous environments he'll explore. These for the most part are swamps, lava caves, and fortresses, but they all look vibrant. The level of detail is also amazing. Then there are the enemies to consider. Their animations also are impressive, to the point where you sometimes must watch them in order to determine when it's safe to attack.
	Conflict: Desert Storm review (XBX) Reviewed on April 28, 2003 Conflict Desert Storm has plenty of those exciting moments that you just can't find in other genres. You're low on ammo, separated from your squad, relatively hidden in a small group of boulders. There's a tank rolling towards you on the left, enemy infantry overrunning your position. What do you do? WHAT DO YOU DO??? I live for these moments - CDS delivers them in bunches.
	Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon review (PS2) Reviewed on April 26, 2003 No, multi-player doesn't truly shine until you unlock cooperative levels. This is done by completing those same levels in the single-player mode. Once that's done, the game suddenly doubles in value. Whenever a new friend comes over, the two of you can take on some missions together and lose a few hours without even realizing they went anywhere.
	Super Puzzle Fighter II review (GBA) Reviewed on April 24, 2003 While you're puttering about on your half of the screen, your opponent is on the other side doing the same thing. Whenever you score a combo or string of combos, blocks will be rained down on your opponent. These blocks do not solidify for around 4 or 5 drops of other blocks, yet they quickly build up on the screen and make things difficult for your dastardly foe.
	Metroid Fusion review (GBA) Reviewed on April 24, 2003 A general situation is that you save and refill your life, find a new boss, die, return with a strategy, die after almost winning, then come back a third time and find victory. There's never a feeling that the game is handing you the next upgrade on a silver platter, and only seldom are you likely to feel truly overwhelmed. Even then, victory might be yours the next time you try.
	Panzer Dragoon Orta review (XBX) Reviewed on April 21, 2003 Orta takes everything its predecessors had to offer, polishes it until it shines, and then fancies it up with glitter paint and elbow macaroni. It’s just as breathtaking, just as intricate, just as feature-laden, and (wait for it…) even as challenging as the Panzer Dragoons that came before it. What’s that? Do you doubt me? Well, you can decide for yourself, because it even includes the original Panzer Dragoon in its entirety as a bonus!
	Project Gotham Racing review (XBX) Reviewed on April 17, 2003 In about every racing game out there, speed is the most important thing. You drive fast, you get to the finish line first in order to win. And that makes sense, right? They ARE racing games after all. Project Gotham Racing is rather different. You still have to win races, but driving like a badass is just as important as driving with speed. It’s really as much a driving game as it is a racing game.
	Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers review (GBA) Reviewed on April 15, 2003 The sheer size of The Two Towers, the number of levels and the fact that there are five different characters make this an extremely impressive title for a portable system. Yet at the same time, the levels often seem empty and needlessly long.
	Strikers: 1945 review (PSX) Reviewed on April 14, 2003 Everything remains steady the whole way through, even when enough sprites are flying around the screen that the sweating geek inside of you cringes and expects smoke to start pouring out of the Playstation. It's amazing to see so much solid detail to the levels and so many projectiles peppering the environment, but no noticeable drop in framerate.
	The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker review (GCN) Reviewed on April 09, 2003 The entire sailing element is a love-hate sort of experience: if you don’t mind occasionally spending five minutes crossing the entire ocean to get from point A to point B or constantly changing the direction of the wind, then you can easily dismiss the potential frustration and realize that it is actually a rather fun experience, and simply exploring the ocean, finding all the islands and their respective objectives, is actually enjoyable.
	The Three Stooges review (GBA) Reviewed on April 07, 2003 While it makes sense to port the flagship games of the Nintendo, Super Nintendo and Genesis, which featured gaming icons like Mario, Sonic the Hedgehog and Earthworm Jim, one has to wonder what sort of logic was behind the decision to port The Three Stooges, an obscure NES game based on characters from a fifty year old black & white television show.
	Skies of Arcadia Legends review (GCN) Reviewed on April 06, 2003 Dungeons, too, are nearly flawless. Void of the usual maze and switch puzzles found in so many RPG’s, the dungeons in Skies of Arcadia Legends, although not entirely difficult, contain what feel more like actual traps than useless obstacles whose only intent is to hinder your progress. Although disappointingly scarce, the puzzles are only the backdrop to the real meat and potatoes of any RPG: the battles (luckily, the frequency of random encounters has been toned down a bit since the past incarnation).
	The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker review (GCN) Reviewed on April 05, 2003 It's at this point, where you're wondering if you should just grit your teeth and sail against the wind or play the baton again, that you start scratching your head and wondering if something is wrong. The answer, of course, is 'yes.' This one little flaw, repeated into perpetuity, is enough to seriously interfere with your enjoyment of what otherwise is a stunning experience.
	Oddworld: Munch's Oddysee review (XBX) Reviewed on April 05, 2003 Munch’s Oddysee takes basic platformer elements like running, jumping and item-collecting and combines them with intelligent puzzles. Abe and Munch both have different strengths and weaknesses, so getting through each puzzle requires cooperation - you can switch between the characters with the press of a button.
	Panic Restaurant review (NES) Reviewed on February 28, 2003 A fun, well-executed game that ultimately doesn't succeed so much as it could have because it's over almost before it begins, Panic Restaurant is still a title worth playing. Particularly if you manage to find it in a bargain bin somewhere.
	.hack Part 1: Infection review (PS2) Reviewed on February 17, 2003 Let the buff guy go in and take the damage while you back him up with healing spells to keep him from dying. If he should die, you can always revive him with the appropriate item. Unfortunately, your buddies won't return the favor. Even if you buy them healing items and hand them over, those friends of yours will just stare blankly at your ghost should you happen to perish in battle.
	Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus review (PS2) Reviewed on February 09, 2003 As Sly Cooper, you'll be able to learn quite a bit as one page of the Thievius Raccoonus after another falls into your paws. There are somewhere around 15 moves--some of them merely enhancements of simpler ones--that you can learn. But here's the best part: none of them are required. You can go through the game without learning a single one if you're so inclined.
	Jet X2O review (PS2) Reviewed on February 04, 2003 Don't pass through enough gates or perform enough tricks and your opponents will leave you in their wake for certain. Get too experimental and try tricks you can't manage, and you'll wipe out and loose a huge chunk of that carefully-acquired rocket power. Success in a race means you've learned to walk the fine line between daring and intelligent, with just enough attention to each attribute.

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